A disturbing new scam is targeting Orange and Rockland County residents, with individuals posing as utility workers attempting a complex scheme to pry money out of homeowners.
In one case, a woman says she got a knock on her door from a man wearing an Orange and Rockland uniform. She didn’t open the door, choosing instead to ask the man what he wanted through an open window.
The man, claiming to be from the utility company, said he was there to hand her an overdue electric bill and warned that her electricity would be shut off at any minute.
Sensing something was off, the woman called her husband to apprise him of the situation. he immediately called the utility company, and while on hold with them, the home’s electricity was shut off.
A utility company employee realized what was going on and told the woman’s husband that no contact should be made with the individual who came to their door, because he is a scammer. What he did was warn her that the electric bill was overdue, then called the utility company with their name, address, and account number, and requested that the electric be shut off, thereby making the actual homeowners think the shutoff was due to an unpaid bill.
If an ostensible employee of a utility company comes to your door demanding payment for a bill you know nothing about, be careful. It’s most likely a scam.
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5 Responses
This happened to a few of my neighbors. They first send a guy to the door asking about solar panels. This is to see if husband is home or only wife. They dont think husband will fall for it. Then comes the utility scammer.
I don’t understand. Can anyone just call the electric company and have anyone’s electricity cut off?
Yes. Not only that, anyone could just fill out a form online and have your mail forwarded.
No Chaya. Not “anyone”. The USPS form requires that the person seeking to forward mail first has to provide some evidence that he/she is a resident of the address. Yes, a real scammer can probably use some counterfeit information or get real information from a hacked identity on the dark internet, its not so eay.
Yeah that is the utility companies fault.
No need to verify anything?
I can’t report a power outage to JCP&L without an account number and verifying my identity with at least one method.