Uniondale, NY - May 16th, 2014 - PSEG Long Island is urging its residential and business customers not to be defrauded by payment scams that are increasingly targeting customers across its service territory. The scam, which has been reported by utilities across the country, involves individuals misrepresenting themselves as PSEG Long Island employees threatening to turn off electric service if payment is not made to them that day.
The scam involves payments using Green Dot MoneyPaks. As noted on the MoneyPak packaging and on the company’s website, to protect from fraud, consumers should treat the MoneyPak like cash and only use the MoneyPak number with businesses on their approved partner list.
PSEG Long Island alerted its customers to a similar scam earlier in the year. In recent weeks, there has been an increase in a new tactic that is targeting small businesses.
- An individual calls pretending to be a PSEG Long Island employee.
- The caller demands the customer to make a payment within hours using a type of pre-paid card, such as a Green Dot MoneyPak, available at pharmacies and convenience stores.
- Customers are advised that if they do not immediately call back and provide the MoneyPak information their service will be turned off that day.
- In many cases, customers who fall victim to the scam do not realize they have been defrauded until the next billing cycle and a payment has not been posted to their account.
What to do if you get a call
When PSEG Long Island makes an outbound phone call to customers, the representative will ask to speak to the Customer of Record. If that person is available, the PSEG Long Island representative will explain why they are calling and will share information that includes the account name, address and current balance. If customers do not receive this correct information, they likely are not speaking with a PSEG Long Island representative. Additionally, if the Customer of Record is not available, the PSEG Long Island representative will not discuss the account at all. The representative will ask the party who answered to give the Customer of Record a message to call PSEG Long Island at 1-800-490-0025.
PSEG Long Island offers a variety of payment options, and would never require a customer to use one specific type of payment. PSEG Long Island customers scheduled for disconnection due to nonpayment receive written notice on their bill at least 10 days in advance.
Any customer who has doubts about the legitimacy of a call from PSEG Long Island — especially one in which payment is requested — should call us directly at 1-800-490-0025 or visit a local PSEG Long Island Customer Service Center. Service Centers are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with locations listed on customer bills and online.
For more information on various payment scams reported in the PSEG Long Island service area and around the country visit https://www.psegliny.com/page.cfm/Home/Account/ScamAlert.
About PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a 12-year contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of $10 billion.