The phone rings, you can't place the number, but you answer it anyway, just in case it's something important. On the other end, a person who sounds very professional and serious; tells you your name, specific details about your gas bill, phone number, bank, immigration status, etc. It doesn't matter, the point is that it alerts you that something isn't right with any of those issues, it starts asking you questions and it hooks you, and in a blink of an eye you've been scammed out of large sums of money.
Sound familiar? Well, that happens to many people every day, not only in San Mateo County, but in the state of California, since according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in 2023, there were “alarming increases in both the frequency and financial impact of online fraud perpetrated by cybercriminals.”
In its annual report using aggregated data from 2023, it was detailed that victims within the FBI's San Francisco division territory lost nearly $400 million in investment scams. The county with the highest number of victims and losses was Santa Clara County, with 446 victims and $152 million in losses.
Manuel Ortiz, a journalist and part of Península 360 Press, received a scam call, however, and knowing how these scammers operate, he played around with them a bit. However, many fall for it and can end up losing astronomical figures.
In Manuel's case, the scam came from people posing as workers from PG&E, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a company that provides natural gas and electricity services in the Bay Area.
According to the company, if you receive an email or phone call from PG&E, the best thing you can do, according to the power company, is to hang up immediately or delete the email, because it is most likely another scam.
Since PG&E began tracking complaints from customers who have been victims of scams, it has recorded more than 60,000 cases, with losses exceeding $2 million in the last two years alone.
Scammers have reached a high level of sophistication, so education is key to avoiding this type of fraud.
In PG&E's case, one of its employees said, the most common scam is the threat of power shutoff for overdue bills, with the claim that the power shutoff truck is on the way.
He reiterated that the company does not make phone calls to collect invoices, nor does it ever accept payments in bitcoin, gift cards or through Zelle, Venmo or PayPal.
Scammers have discovered that while pretending to be friendly and helpful, they can sometimes stay on the phone with their victim, directing them to a nearby store or “payment kiosk,” and providing step-by-step instructions on purchasing gift cards and other payment methods—some involving “cryptocurrency”—while all they are really doing is helping victims throw away their money.
Don't be fooled by your phone's caller ID, either. Scammers have figured out how to make their calls look like they're coming from PG&E itself. But they're not.
If you have questions about your bill or a possible power outage, call PG&E's customer service number at (800) 743-5000.
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