Stay Alert and Know How to Spot a Scammer

PSEG Long Island has experienced an uptick in scam reporting recently and encourages customers to stay alert and informed about scammers to #StopScams.

This year has presented many challenges, and scammers prey on us when we are distracted. We are pleased to participate in the UUAS awareness campaign to educate and help decrease the number of customers that fall victim to the scammers.

Scammers have become more brazen with their tactics and all customers need to be aware. It is our hope that information about scams will be widely shared throughout our service communities so no one falls prey to these unscrupulous people.

“Customers need to be on high alert as we continue to see impostor utility scams rise across North America,” said UUAS Executive Director Monica Martinez. “Scammers demand money or personal information on the spot—usually with threatening language—and indicate that service will be disconnected immediately. Anyone and everyone, from senior households to small business owners, is at risk of being targeted.”

Protect yourself against scams:

Be alert to the telltale sign of a scam: someone asking by telephone or email for payment in pre-paid debit cards or through a MoneyGram transfer, or to send money to an out-of-state address. Never arrange payment or divulge account or personal information, including Social Security numbers or debit or credit card information, over the telephone unless you are certain you are speaking to a PSEG Long Island representative.

Customers should also know what PSEG Long Island will and won’t discuss over the phone. A genuine PSEG Long Island representative will ask to speak to the “Customer of Record.” If that person is available, the representative will explain why they are calling and provide the account name, address and current balance. If the person on the phone does not provide the correct information, it is likely the customer is not speaking with a PSEG Long Island representative.

If the “Customer of Record” is not available, the PSEG Long Island representative will not discuss the account at all and ask that a message be left for the “Customer of Record” to call 1-800-490-0025.

If a customer has doubts about the legitimacy of a call or an email — especially one in which payment is requested — call the company directly at 1-800-490-0025. 

PSEG Long Island is a member of the UUAS collaborative. UUAS, a consortium of more than 145 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations, has helped to create awareness of common and new scam tactics and to cease operations of nearly 5,000 toll-free numbers used against utility customers by scammers.

For more information on various payment scams reported in the PSEG Long Island service area and around the country, visit psegliny.com/scam.