National Grid is warning New York customers to be wary of utility billing and payment scams, which are on the rise.
The reported scams themselves are nothing new: Fraudsters claim to be from National Grid, or another utility company, and say that service will be shut off is the customer doesn’t pay past due balances immediately. Some even promise the customer savings on a future bill.
What is new, according to National Grid, are the steps that impostors take to convince a customer that they are genuine employees of the utility.
“Customers contacted in the latest scam report that the caller will provide a name, office location from where they are calling, and an identification number,” National Grid stated in a recent alert. “In many cases, the scammers use a practice called spoofing, where the caller ID and return number will have National Grid’s name and correct phone number.”
Scammers ask for payment via a means that a utility would never accept, such as a prepaid Green Dot MoneyPak, and refuse to allow the customers to choose the method of payment. After purchasing a MoneyPak, victims are told to call a toll-free number that impersonates a National Grid line. Scammers may also seek bank or credit card information and even Social Security numbers.
The scams are not limited to residential customers. Business have been threatened with shutoff and asked to make Western Union money transfers.
“The scenario may vary, but the scam’s goals remain the same: scare customers into making hasty decisions that include large financial payments and revealing sensitive personal information,” National Grid stated. “Similar scams have been reported across the U.S. by other utilities.”
Though National Grid does call customers to offer payment options, it never threatens immediate disconnection, the utility noted.
Customers who suspect they have fallen victim to a scam are advised to contact local law enforcement officials immediately.
One way to detect a scam, National Grid advises, is to check if a callback number provided matches phone numbers on billing statements. Another red flag is a caller seeking payment when a customer is not behind on utility bills.
A customer who suspects a call that purports to be from National Grid is not genuine can ask the caller for the last five digits of the customer’s account number. A real National Grid representative will have that information; a scammer could potentially know it as well, but not knowing it is a sure sign of a scam.
Scammers might also reach out by email and lure customers with a link to a malicious website.
For more information on scam protection, visit ngrid.com/scam.
Staff Writer on Aug 30, 2023