CrimeBeat Q&A: How can I protect myself from scammers pretending to be from PG&E?

CrimeBeat Q&A is a weekly feature where police reporter Nick Rahaim answers readers' questions about local crimes and the law.

How can I protect myself from scammers pretending to be bill collectors from PG&E?

Law enforcement agencies and PG&E have long been aware of phone scams targeting elderly people and immigrants, but with federal income tax refunds coming in, scammers are stepping up their efforts to grab some of the cash coming into the county.

“Around tax day scammers get more aggressive,” said Deanna Contreras, a Santa Rosa-based spokeswoman for PG&E. “They know that people have extra cash on them.”

So far this year in Sonoma County, the company has received reports of five calls from con artists masquerading as PG&E bill collectors, said Contreras. Throughout PG&E's service area, there were 2,400 reported scams last year, up from 1,800 in 2015. Roughly 10 percent of calls from scammers are successful, Contreras continued.

“We know the actual number of scam attempts is probably several times higher, as many customers don't report the scams for several reasons - maybe they're too embarrassed or aren't sure it was a scam,” she said by email.

Around 8 a.m. Monday, Kharla Vezzetti received an automated call that claimed there was a problem with her PG&E account. The robocall correctly stated the 46-year-old Santa Rosa resident's home address and apartment number, making it sound official. But once the call prompted her to enter her Social Security, driver license or consulate number, she became alarmed and hung up.

“I thought it was pretty clever,” said Vezzetti, who later posted a warning on Nextdoor, a social networking site for neighborhoods. “It felt and looked very legitimate for the first several seconds.”

Just last Tuesday, a 31-year-old Petaluma woman fell for a 9 a.m. phone scam and is out $500 to someone who pretended to be a PG&E representative and demanded immediate payment, said Petaluma Police Sgt. Rick Cox.

The woman, whose name was withheld, gave the caller her 16-digit Bank of America account number, fearing she was facing an imminent disconnection of gas and electricity. The scammer informed the victim that her account was not accessible and instructed her to go out and purchase a Green Dot prepaid debit card.

The victim complied and told the fraudulent caller the number on the prepaid card. It was only after that the victim realized she had been duped and called Petaluma police to report the crime.

“We don't have any leads on who made the call,” said Cox, who noted that Petaluma police get quite a few calls about phone scams. “Prosecution-wise, this kind of fraud is very difficult to trace.”

Most successful scams involving fake PG&E callers result in the loss of several hundred dollars, but at times losses exceed $1,000, Contreras said.

In the case of Vezzetti, the caller ID on her landline showed “PCFC Gas & Electric,” which she mistook for PG&E. Other times, scammers are able to generate numbers that show “PG&E” on the caller ID, Contreras said.

When Petaluma police called the number that scammed the 31-year-old woman, it turned out the number was for a legitimate business, Cox said. The scammers had hacked a phone number.

“Scammers are getting very sophisticated. Not only are we seeing scammers using PG&E caller ID but we are seeing the robocalls (or automated calls) becoming more sophisticated too,” Contreras said by email. “A majority of the fake automated calls are from out of the country and use our own outgoing recording for their calls.”

If there is a problem with an account, PG&E will send a notice by mail, Contreras said. If the company calls a customer, it will not request personal information.

Submit your questions about crime, safety and criminal justice to Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com.