Uniondale, NY - December 14, 2015 - PSEG Long Island is urging its customers to be alert to payment scams this season. Customers should be cautious of callers who demand immediate payment via a pre-paid card, and wary of phony utility workers showing up at their door to “check a problem.”
"While we may have seen a decrease in the number of scams reported to us by our customers on Long Island and in the Rockaways, the fact that just one of our customers could be impacted by a scam is one too many," said Dan Eichhorn, vice president, customer services, PSEG Long Island. "Protecting our customers’ personal and financial security is a priority for us and we continue to urge our customers to use caution when making payments.”
Phone scammers use scare tactics -- threatening service termination if they do not receive immediate payment with a pre-paid credit card. PSEG Long Island offers a number of payment options, and would never require a customer to use one specific type of payment.
Door-to-door scammers use trickery -- showing up at someone’s house dressed like a utility worker and say they need to “check a problem.” Often, after they gain access, they burglarize the home. PSEG Long Island customers should always ask for I.D.
When in doubt or if suspicious in any way, PSEG Long Island urges customers to call the number listed on their bill: 1-800-490-0025 and report scamming activity to their local police department.
PSEG Long Island is working with local and national law enforcement to investigate the matter and is also reaching out to its contacts at local community service agencies asking them to spread the word to their clients.
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 approximately $11 billion.