National Scam Awareness Week: Con Ed Says Beware Con Artists

The criminals who want to rip off Con Edison customers in Westchester County do not discriminate prey on residential and business customers alike, Con Ed officials say. The elderly need to be aware, but so do customers of other ages, including millennials. Scammers target English-speaking people and non-English speakers.

Since scams are a persistent problem for utility customers everywhere, Con Edison and more than 100 electric, gas and water providers have formed Utilities United Against Scams, which gives customers information they need to protect themselves.

The group has declared this week to be National Scam Awareness Week and Wednesday to be National Scam Awareness Day.

“Scammers just never stop,” said Christine Osuji, general manager in Customer Operations for Con Edison. “But by being able to recognize a few warning signs, our customers can avoid becoming victims. We want to make sure they have that information.”

Victims have sad stories. Here's one:

The owner of a small business in Westchester County loaded $1,000 onto a Green Dot pre-paid card after a scammer called her, claimed to be from Con Edison and said a crew would shut off service unless the owner paid the bill immediately.

This is a common scam. The swindlers sometimes tell the customer about a store near the customer's home or business that sells pre-paid cards. The scammers can even make a Con Edison phone number show up on the customer's caller ID. Once the customer puts money on pre-paid card and provides the scammer with the card number, the scammer steals the money.

With MoneyGram, scammers may ask a customer to provide money from a bank account, credit card or debit card by going online or to a specified location. The money goes into someone else’s bank account or is available for the receiver to pick up in cash.

These callers are not from Con Edison and Con Edison does not accept payments by pre-paid debit cards, by MoneyGram or similar transfers.

Never arrange payment or divulge account or personal information, including debit or credit card information, over the telephone, unless you are certain you are speaking to Con Edison. If you are unsure whether the caller is from Con Edison, call 1-800-75-CONED to check.

Just as menacing are impostors who show up at customers’ homes and businesses claiming to be from Con Edison. The scammers either try to get the customer to hand over money with a phony story or to get inside the house by saying they need to do work.

Here's a sad victim story about that:

A restaurateur in northwest Queens got taken by two women who went to his restaurant dressed in Con Edison uniforms. They told the customer the company had a program that Latino customers didn’t know existed and offered to see that his bill was paid. The customer gave the women a copy of his bill and $1,800.

If someone comes to your home or business claiming to be from Con Edison, ask for identification. If you are still unsure, call 1-800-75-CONED or the police.

Here are some tips:

• Be alert if anyone asks you by telephone to arrange for pre-paid debit cards or a MoneyGram transfer as payment for your bill, or to send money to an out-of-state address. Never arrange payment or divulge account or personal information, including debit or credit card information, over the telephone, unless you are certain you are speaking to a Con Ed representative.
• In fact, never provide a Social Security number, credit card number or banking information to anyone requesting it unless you initiated the contact and know the identity of the person with whom you are speaking.
• If a stranger comes to your door claiming to be a Con Ed employee, insist that the worker produce an Con Ed identification card for your review before transacting any business with him or her, or permitting them into your home. If Con Ed has made a service appointment, O&R will provide the customer with a unique service order number. Ask the utility worker for his or her I.D. card and the service order number. If the utility worker fails to provide an ID and/or the number for the appointment, the customer is to break off contact, lock the door and call the police.

Here's what to do if you've been victimized:

Anyone who feels they may have been a target of an imposter or a payment scam should call their police department.

To hear a podcast on avoiding scams, click here.