• Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Log In
  • Sign Up
  • Data Privacy
  • Send a Release
Cision PR Newswire: news distribution, targeting and monitoring home
  • News
  • Products
    • Overview
    • Distribution by PR Newswire
    • Cision Communications Cloud®
    • Cision IR
    • All Products
  • Contact
    • General Inquiries
    • Request a Demo
    • Editorial Bureaus
    • Partnerships
    • Media Inquiries
    • Worldwide Offices

 

When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases
      • All News Releases
      • All Public Company
      • English-only


      • News Releases Overview
      • Multimedia Gallery
      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos


      • Multimedia Gallery Overview
      • Trending Topics
      • All Trending Topics


  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation
      • All Automotive & Transportation
      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation


      • Auto & Transportation Overview
      • Business Technology
      • All Business Technology
      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors


      • Business Technology Overview
      • Entertain­ment & Media
      • All Entertain­ment & Media
      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television


      • Entertain­ment & Media Overview
      • Financial Services & Investing
      • All Financial Services & Investing
      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital


      • Financial Services & Investing Overview
      • General Business
      • All General Business
      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News


      • General Business Overview
  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology
      • All Consumer Technology
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications


      • Consumer Technology Overview
      • Energy & Natural Resources
      • All Energy
      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities


      • Energy & Natural Resources Overview
      • Environ­ment
      • All Environ­ment
      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters


      • Environ­ment Overview
      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
      • All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco


      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing Overview
      • Telecomm­unications
      • All Telecomm­unications
      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications


      • Telecomm­unications Overview
  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail
      • All Consumer Products & Retail
      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys


      • Consumer Products & Retail Overview
      • Entertain­ment & Media
      • All Entertain­ment & Media
      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television


      • Entertain­ment & Media Overview
      • Health
      • All Health
      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine


      • Health Overview
      • Sports
      • All Sports
      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories


      • Sports Overview
      • Travel
      • All Travel
      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry


      • Travel Overview
  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest
      • All Policy & Public Interest
      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy


      • Policy & Public Interest Overview
  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture
      • All People & Culture
      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women


      • People & Culture Overview
      • In-Language News

      • español
      • português
      • Česko
      • Danmark
      • Deutschland
      • España
      • France
      • Italia
      • Nederland
      • Norge
      • Polska
      • Portugal
      • Россия
      • Slovensko
      • Suomi
      • Sverige
  • Overview
  • Distribution by PR Newswire
  • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • Cision IR
  • All Products
  • General Inquiries
  • Request a Demo
  • Editorial Bureaus
  • Partnerships
  • Media Inquiries
  • Worldwide Offices
  • PR Newswire: news distribution, targeting and monitoring
  • Send a Release
    • ALL CONTACT INFO

      Contact Us

      888-776-0942
      from 8 AM - 10 PM ET

  • Send a Release
  • Sign Up
  • Log In
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Trending Topics
    • Send a Release
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Journalists
    • RSS
    • GDPR
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
    • Send a Release
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Journalists
    • RSS
    • GDPR
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
    • Send a Release
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Journalists
    • RSS
    • GDPR
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
    • Send a Release
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Journalists
    • RSS
    • GDPR
  • Policy & Public Interest
    • Send a Release
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Journalists
    • RSS
    • GDPR
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
    • Send a Release
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Journalists
    • RSS
    • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign Up
  • Log In
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Overview
  • Distribution by PR Newswire
  • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • Cision IR
  • All Products
  • Send a Release
  • Sign Up
  • Log In
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • General Inquiries
  • Request a Demo
  • Editorial Bureaus
  • Partnerships
  • Media Inquiries
  • Worldwide Offices
  • Send a Release
  • Sign Up
  • Log In
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • RSS
  • GDPR

PSEG Long Island Continues to Raise Awareness During Utility Scam Awareness Week

#StopScams

PSEG Long Island logo (PRNewsFoto/PSEG Long Island)

News provided by

PSEG Long Island

Nov 16, 2020, 15:17 ET

Share this article

Share this article


UNIONDALE, N.Y., Nov. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PSEG Long Island will join Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) to recognize the fifth annual Utility Scam Awareness Week Nov. 16 -20. National Scam Awareness Week is an advocacy and awareness campaign focused on educating customers and exposing the tactics used by scammers.

"This year has presented many challenges, and scammers prey on us when we are distracted," said Rick Walden, vice president of Customer Services, PSEG Long Island. "More than 5,400 scam calls have been reported to PSEG Long Island this year. We participate in the UUAS awareness campaign to educate and help decrease the number of customers that fall victim to the scammers."

Signs of potential scam activity:   

  • Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively tell the customer their utility bill is past due and service will be disconnected if a payment is not made – usually within an hour.

  • Request for immediate payment: Scammers may instruct the customer to use cash or purchase a prepaid card, a gift card or even Bitcoin, and then to call them back — supposedly to make a phone payment to the utility company, or to receive instructions for an in-person meeting, supposedly at a utility customer center. Many times after the customer makes the first payment, the scammer will call back to ask for the payment to be resubmitted due to an error with the amount. The scammer refers to a new amount is and claims that the original payment will be refunded. Sometimes they will call a third time to say the payment did not go through and to resubmit again.

  • In person-demands: Scammers may arrive at a home or business, flash a fake ID and/or claim to be a utility collection representative. The impostors may wear "uniforms" or affix false company signs to their vehicles. The scammers generally ask for personal information, which real utility representatives do not do, or offer bogus discounts.

  • Request for card information: If a customer calls back with requested information, the caller asks the customer for the prepaid card's number or gift-card PIN, which grants the scammer instant access to the card's funds, and the victim's money is gone.

  • Priority Meter Installs: Recent phone scams reported to PSEG Long Island include demands for payment for past-due bills or requiring a deposit for a priority meter installation. PSEG Long Island does not require a deposit for meter installations. Often scammers will threaten to disconnect electric service if payment is not made immediately. These scammers often demand payment through a pre-paid card (e.g. Green Dot Money Pak, Vanilla Reload Card) or bitcoin. If the victim takes the bait, the scammer provides a telephone number where a fake representative requests additional information that completes the fraudulent transaction.

"Customers need to be on high alert as we continue to see impostor utility scams rise across North America," said UUAS Executive Director Monica Martinez. "Scammers demand money or personal information on the spot—usually with threatening language—and indicate that service will be disconnected immediately. Anyone and everyone, from senior households to small business owners, is at risk of being targeted."

Protect yourself against scams:

Be alert to the telltale sign of a scam: someone asking by telephone or email for payment in pre-paid debit cards or a MoneyGram transfer, or to send money to an out-of-state address. Never arrange payment or divulge account or personal information, including Social Security numbers or debit or credit card information, over the telephone unless you are certain you are speaking to a PSEG Long Island representative.

Customers should also know what PSEG Long Island will and won't discuss over the phone. A genuine PSEG Long Island representative will ask to speak to the Customer of Record. If that person is available, the representative will explain why they are calling and provide the account name, address and current balance. If the person on the phone does not provide the correct information, it is likely the customer is not speaking with a PSEG Long Island representative.

If the Customer of Record is not available, the PSEG Long Island representative will not discuss the account at all and ask that a message be left for the Customer of Record to call 1-800-490-0025.

If a customer has doubts about the legitimacy of a call or an email — especially one in which payment is requested — call the company directly at 1-800-490-0025.

PSEG Long Island is a member of the UUAS collaborative. UUAS, a consortium of more than 145 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations, has helped to create awareness of common and new scam tactics and to cease operations of nearly 5,000 toll-free numbers used against utility customers by scammers.

For more information on various payment scams reported in the PSEG Long Island service area and around the country, visit https://www.psegliny.com/myaccount/customersupport/scamsandfraud.

PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority's transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract.  PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company.

Visit PSEG Long Island at:
www.psegliny.com
PSEG Long Island on Facebook
PSEG Long Island on Twitter
PSEG Long Island on YouTube
PSEG Long Island on Flickr 

Contact:

Media Relations Pager


516.229.7248

SOURCE PSEG Long Island

Modal title

Also from this source

PSEG Long Island Energizes New Transmission Line in Nassau...

Explore

More news releases in similar topics

  • Oil & Energy
  • Utilities
  • Electrical Utilities
  • High Tech Security
  • Computer & Electronics

    Contact Cision

  • Cision Distribution 888-776-0942
    from 8 AM - 9 PM ET

  • Chat with an Expert
    • General Inquiries
    • Request a Demo
    • Editorial Bureaus
    • Partnerships
    • Media Inquiries
    • Worldwide Offices

    Products

  • Cision Communication Cloud®
  • For Marketers
  • For Public Relations
  • For IR & Compliance
  • For Agency
  • For Small Business
  • All Products

    About

  • About PR Newswire
  • About Cision
  • Become a Publishing Partner
  • Become a Channel Partner
  • Careers
  • COVID-19 Resources
  • Accessibility Statement

    • Asia
    • Brazil
    • Canada
    • Czech
    • Denmark
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • India
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Mexico
    • Middle East
    • Netherlands
    • Norway
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Russia
    • Slovakia
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • United Kingdom

    My Services

  • All New Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet

Contact Cision


Products


About


My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet℠
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Information Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2021 Cision US Inc.