LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. and other natural gas and electric utilities
across the United States and
Canada are joining forces to
protect their customers from telephone scams. The coalition
of utilities have designated Nov. 16
as "Utilities United Against Scams Day," which will also be
supported by a week-long campaign focused on exposing the tricks
criminals use to steal money from customers.
The current scam this campaign focuses around involves
unsolicited phone calls to utility customers from individuals who
falsely claim to be SoCalGas or other utility representatives. The
scammer warns the customer that SoCalGas will disconnect the
customer's natural gas service if the customer fails to make a
payment, usually within a short timeframe.
"We take the privacy and security of our SoCalGas customers very
seriously and are proud to take part in this campaign to help raise
awareness," said Gillian Wright,
vice president of customer services at SoCalGas. "We encourage
customers to look for the warning signs associated with this latest
scam and to call the police as well as our customer call center
number to report it to us. We also want to reiterate that we do not
call our customers who are late on their payments, but will instead
send an email or mail notice."
Warning signs of latest scam:
- An individual calls a customer telling them that their account
is past due and threatening disconnection if a large sum of money
isn't received within the hour.
- The thief then instructs the customer to purchase a pre-paid
debit or credit card from a retail store and then call him or her
back to make a payment to "SoCalGas."
- The scammer then asks the customer for the pre-paid card's
receipt number and PIN number which will then give the thief access
to the card's funds.
How to protect yourself:
- Again, SoCalGas representatives never ask or require a
customer with a delinquent account to purchase a pre-paid debit or
credit card to avoid disconnection.
- Customers can make online payments by phone, automatic bank
draft, mail or
in person at an authorized SoCalGas payment center.
- Customers with delinquent accounts always receive an advance
disconnection notification with the regular monthly billing and
never a single notification one hour before service
disconnection.
- Customers who suspect or experience fraud, or feel threatened
during contact with one of these thieves, should contact local
authorities, and then SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200.
SoCalGas continues its efforts to protect its customers in a
variety of ways including: bill messages and alerts, working with
the media, and partnering with local law enforcement and
officials.
About Southern California Gas Co.
Southern California Gas Co. has been delivering clean, safe and
reliable natural gas to its customers for more than 140 years. It
is the nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, providing
service to 21.4 million consumers connected through 5.9 million
meters in more than 500 communities. The company's service
territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles throughout
central and Southern California,
from Visalia to the Mexican
border. Southern California Gas Co. is a regulated subsidiary of
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding
company based in San Diego.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.