1 year ago
18
FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - From IRS scams to toll and inferior scams, mundane consumers person to enactment connected their toes to observe suspicious emails, texts, and calls.
This week, PG&E and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) person partnered to assistance customers admit and debar inferior scams.
Last year, PG&E received implicit 26,000 reports from customers targeted by scams, with astir $650,000 lost. However, the inferior institution suspects that galore much incidents spell unreported.
"It's an ongoing problem," said PG&E Spokesperson Jeff Smith.
Crooks are targeting the astir vulnerable. Smith says this radical includes the aged and immigrants.
"These folks person gotten truly skilled, truthful that the 1-800 fig sometimes adjacent accidental PG&E underneath it," Smith explained.
Scammers often request contiguous outgo and endanger work disconnection. They whitethorn besides petition payments done prepaid debit cards, Zelle, oregon Venmo.
"If you deliberation thing is suspicious, disconnect that telephone and say, you know, I'm going to telephone PG&E back," helium said.
Smith says that if a outgo needs to beryllium made, PG&E volition interaction you respective times implicit a play of months. The scammer's urgency is simply a maneuver to induce fear.
"We volition effort and enactment with folks if they're having trouble paying their bills, say, however tin we enactment you connected a outgo plan, that benignant of thing," helium added.
But mundane folks aren't the lone ones astatine risk. PG&E besides warns tiny concern owners. In 2024, they received much than 1,200 reports of scam attempts targeting these consumers.
"We privation to promote our customers, you ever person to beryllium vigilant."
And if you judge you were successful interaction with a scammer oregon were scammed, you should study it to PG&E.
