PG&E Warns Customers Of Increase In Phone Scams

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A warning Wednesday about an increasingly common type of scam being perpetrated by people posing as utility workers.

Utilities across the country were uniting to send a message to their customers not to fall for it.

Ernie Cervantes said it started with a phone call from someone claiming the PG&E bill for his doggie daycare business was past due.

"He told me that I had just minutes to pay my bill, otherwise the disconnect crew that had been dispatched would turn off my power," explained Cervantes.

In a panic, he did what the caller demanded. He ran to a store, bought more than $750 in pre-paid cards and gave the caller the numbers printed on the back.

Tamar Sarkissan, who works for PG&E, said customers should never give in to such high-pressure demands. She said reports of similar calls to her utility's customers are up 25 percent this year.

"We've had 2,400 reports this year," said Sarkissan. "We had 1,800 in all of last year."

Other utilities across the country are reporting similar increases.

This week, the utilities are uniting to warn customers not to fall for the scam. It is just one variety of fraud aimed at tricking people into handing their money over to con artists.

David Newman of the Federal Trade Commission says the scammers succeed because people get scared.

"Once you get scared, you stop thinking," said Newman. "And you don't approach it critically."

And scammers are getting more sophisticated, disguising the phone numbers being used with a technique known as spoofing.

They also use stolen personal information to make it appear they know more about their would-be victims.