As summer starts to heat up, so do the scams related to your electric bill.
ComEd says there will be a rise in fraud attempts, from impostors telling customers that their service will be shut off. This is something that can really frighten people, as temperatures start to rise and the need for air conditioning grows.
There are several tactics being used to by scammers who want you to think they are ComEd reps. One is where they use “spoofing technology” to pretend to be calling from ComEd offices.
“Scammers call our customers saying they are calling on behalf of ComEd, and they are going to disconnect [the customer] unless they pay them immediately. “Run out, and get a prepaid card. Call me back at a number and give me a card number, and you’ll be safe,’ they say. Only that’s not ComEd calling; that’s a scammer calling,” said Christine Brinkman, ComEd’s Vice President of Customer Operations.
- ComEd doesn’t ask people to make payments with prepaid cash cards.
- They will not call to ask for immediate payment.
- Brinkman said ComEd may send a letter to a customer telling them their payment is late.
Some electric company impersonators will visit customers at home, asking for payment at the door.
- Brinkman explained that ComEd will never come knocking and ask for money.
- ComEd will not ask for your Social Security number or other personal information.
While anyone can fall victim to this type of scam, people behind on their bills or are medically-dependent on electricity may be more vulnerable.
“[The customer being scammed] can be someone that is current on their bill. If you are in a household where you may not control the bills, you may not be paying the bills, and you think your husband, wife, or roommate has paid the bill, you’re not sure [if the ComEd bills are current. Then a person comes and says, ‘We’re going to disconnect you.’ Customers may feel that fear that [their] power is going to get disconnected, [so] they will [go] get the prepaid card,” Brinkman said.
Brinkman also gave this piece of advice: To figure out if you’re really talking to someone from ComEd, hang up, and call direct to ComEd. If you think you have been a victim of someone pretending to be a ComEd representative, the company wants to hear from you.
Customers should also visit the scam alert page on ComEd’s website: poweringlives.comed.com.