Petaluma resident duped out of $500 in PG&E phone scam

A 31-year-old Petaluma resident fell for a phone scam Tuesday and could be out $500 to someone pretending to be a representative from Pacific Gas and Electric Co., according Petaluma police.

The woman, whose name is not being released, received a call from a person claiming to be from PG&E who said she was late paying her bill. The victim then provided the scammer with her bank account information, police said.

The victim was then told that her bank account was not accessible, so the woman purchased a $500 prepaid credit card and gave the fraudulent caller the 16-digit code.

After the call the victim realized she had been duped and called Petaluma police to report the crime.

Crimes of this kind are difficult to trace, Petaluma police said in a statement. Additionally, PG&E does not call customers about overdue payments.

Petaluma police encourage residents to not provide personal information to suspicious callers.