Fake PG&E rep targets local business

A local business owner was scammed out of more than $1,000 Monday after receiving a telephone call from a man who claimed to be a utility company representative, according to the Gilroy Police Department.
An unknown male suspect told the business owner, located on the 8100 block of Monterey Road, that his Pacific Gas & Electric bill was overdue and that his power would be cut off if he didn’t immediately make a payment over the phone by 5 p.m., GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza said.
The suspect told the victim to go to Walmart and purchase a re-loadable GreenDot debit card – a type of prepaid card that can be used anywhere – and provide the number on the card. The victim provided the number, thinking the caller was a legitimate PG&E representative, and that was it.
Once a victim provides a GreenDot card number over the phone to someone purporting to be with a utility company, the criminal is challenging to track down, and the funds are not easily recovered, Espinoza added.
It’s likely the scammer used a device called a spoofer to mask his real phone number from overseas to give the appearance he was calling from an official PG&E phone line.
“Unfortunately, these are dead-end cases,” Espinoza said. “Once the code is given and the money is transferred, police can’t do much unless there is a federal investigation.”
Just last month, a restaurant owner on Monterey Road was targeted by the same type of scammer and lost out on $944 after providing a GreenDot number she purchased at Safeway.
The GPD says the majority of utility companies will not simply call to collect on a past due bill; they’ll also send a notice via U.S. Mail when a bill is overdue for at least 10 days.
“When in doubt, ask for a call back number (from the person claiming to be with a utlity company),” Espinoza said. “Say ‘I can’t talk right now’ and ask them to provide a call back number and a name. Then, get on the web and confirm the call back number with the utility company’s website and go that route. PG&E will never ask for a GreenDot form of payment.”
In October, PG&E issued a press release warning customers about this type of telephone scam – one which authorities have seen across the bay area.
PG&E said customers with concerns about the legitimacy of a call about a past due bill, service request, questions about revealing personal information or to verify and appointment can call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
Customers of the utility company who do provide credit card numbers or checking account information over the phone – which the utility company says they will never ask customers to do – to someone claiming to be collecting on a past due bill are encouraged to report the transaction to law enforcement and their financial institution.