Pay or be left without electricity: a new fraudulent scam in New York

In New York, telephone scammers are operating: they call National Grid's customers and try to lure them out of money. The scam is aimed at people who have already encountered difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was reported on the website of the publication Niagara Frontier Publications.

National Grid, an electric power and gas company, called on New York customers to be vigilant so as not to become victims of scammers. The company warned that telephone scammers are operating in the state, requiring customers to immediately pay bills and threaten to disconnect the service.

How it works. Unknowns call and impersonate a National Grid representative. They inform customers that if payment is not made within 30 minutes, their power supply will be turned off. The consumer is then invited to call “the billing department to pay and avoid power outages.”

Fraudsters use a program due to which the National Grid phone is displayed during an incoming call. In addition, the phone numbers that customers are encouraged to call back are similar to the actual company contacts. These elements are confusing for a client who finds it difficult to understand that the call did not actually come from the National Grid, but from scammers.

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What to do. If you suspect that scammers have called you, it is recommended that you hang up and call the National Grid customer service number.

Recall that from March 13, National Grid suspended activities related to collection, including disconnecting services to customers. This was done to reduce the financial burden on people caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you are a client of a company and have difficulty paying bills, it is recommended that you use the billing options offered by the company or discuss this problem with one of the advocates of consumer interests.

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Additional anti-fraud tips

National Grid encourages customers to be careful with scammers and offers the following tips:

• Do not give the caller your company account number: National Grid representatives know this information.
• Ask the caller to enter the last five digits of your National Grid account number. If the caller does not know him, asks questions on the account balance and related details, or if you have doubts that the caller is a representative of the company, hang up immediately. Then call the National Grid or local law enforcement to report the incident.
• Remember: the company will not contact customers and require immediate payment by bank transfer or in any other way unusual for it.
• Under no circumstances should you give personal or financial information to someone you cannot identify.