SPREAD THE WORD! BEWARE OF PG&E SCAM TARGETING BUSINESSES! We got a call yesterday claiming non receipt of our payment and that we would be disconnected within 45 minutes. Please beware of fake disconnection calls. To verify the call, contact PG&Es number directly to speak to an agent. Do not make payments through incoming calls. Read below for the full story ... The call came in yesterday, Sunday at 3pm. We were informed that we were to get disconnected in 45 minutes unless we paid our past due bill immediately. Our bookkeeper, Lory, took the call. The man on the other line explained that their banking institution was having problems processing our February payment and that they supposedly sent letters about the problem instructing us to pay through a different method. Of course, the letters never came. Lory asked to verify our account number and last payment amount but the caller could not furnish the information. At that point, we concluded it was a scam. Lory, however, decided to turn the tables on the scammers and rode along pretending she was gullible enough to believe them! The man proceeded to inform Lory that our February payment was to be credited back into our account in 24-48 hours due to the processing problem. She was again told to provide payment within 45 minutes or else face disconnection. Once paid, he would call off the utility truck that was on its way to turn off our electricity. (Really?) What made this call even more interesting were the payment instructions which were was so complicated that even a 10-year-old wouldnt have believed it! Read on ... Lory was instructed to purchase a Vanilla Reload Payment Card available at any Dollar Tree, CVS, 7-11 or Walgreens. The caller said we owed $1,590 dollars. But because the payment cards could only be purchased in $500 increments, we would have to buy 3 cards of $500 each and the last one at $90. After the purchase, we would then need to call them back with a code so that they could electronically accept payment. At this point Lory had been on the call for at least 20 minutes acting as if she was falling for the scam. She pretended not to understand the instructions that it made the 1st caller so frustrated he passed the call to his supervisor. At some point in the conversation, the supervisor raised his voice and claimed she was putting words in his mouth! (LOL) Lory ended the call making them think that she finally understood all instructions and was on her way to purchase the cards. After 15 minutes, they called back and asked if we purchased the cards because the utility truck was supposedly on its way within 15 minutes to disconnect our services. At that point, we told them to stop harassing us. Although this was funny to us, it isnt if you become a victim. We know at least 2 businesses that received the same calls. Thankfully, they didnt fall for it. Please spread the word to prevent anyone from being victimized
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 05:28:42 +0000
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