7 On Your Side has reported on this scam for years but now it's rearing up again, and seems stronger than ever. PG&E says thousands of Bay Area residents have already been targeted by these imposters. But if you know how they operate, you can foil the scam instead of losing your money.
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It happened to Linda Kittlitz of San Francisco five years ago. "I'm Bruno from PG&E, I'm getting ready to come over and turn off your power," the caller had told her.
And to Lyn-Ellen Watson in 2019. "I had to buy Moneypak cards," she told 7 On Your Side.
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Both got calls from someone claiming to be from PG&E, saying they owed money on their accounts, and if they didn't pay up quick, their power would be shut off.
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Now it's happened to Gary Fong's family in El Cerrito.
An imposter called, claiming Gary owed $500 on his PG&E bill. "You get the money to us right away unless you want the power turned off within half an hour," he was told.
"I said, 'No, I have checks that cleared PG&E for the last two months. He said, 'Oh, must be an error on our part; you still have to pay us first and we'll reimburse you," Gary said.
Gary said it seemed plausible there could be a mix-up on his account. That's because PG&E had done energy conservation work on his home so he could qualify for a reduced bill.
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The imposter said he agreed there might be a mistake, but PG&E would still have to shut off power until it was cleared up.
Which panicked Gary. The man also said Gary could not use a credit card, but had to pay with a $500 Moneypak cards from a Safeway store.
"I followed his directions, I call him back... 'Do you have the green card?' 'Yes, I have the green card,' 'Scrape off the back and give me the number,'" Gary recounted.
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Gary sat in the Safeway parking lot, scratched off the card and gave the number to the man.
He never heard from him again.
"Basically I got scammed, and I was suckered enough..." he said.
He lost $500 -- which is bad enough.
Lyn-Ellen wound up losing $7,000!
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Linda was lucky. Before she paid, a friend told her to call PG&E directly.
"For calls about a suspicious phone call or email, press three. (Beep) PG&E is aware of a new phone scam..." the PG&E outgoing message said.
So when the imposter called back, Linda was ready.
"I said, 'Bruno, I know this is a scam!'" she said.
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Bruno hung up.
Now Gary wants to warn you too. "I was foolish enough, so I don't want anybody else to be," he said. "If we can help somebody, we're happy."
The 7 On Your Side team can't emphasize this enough: if someone calls claiming it's PG&E about to turn off your power, it's almost certainly a scam.
Also PG&E would never ask you to run to Safeway and buy Moneypaks. That's a scam.
And PG&E would never shut off your power with less than an hour's notice.
If you get any such call, hang up. Call PG&E directly using only the phone number on your bill.
Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.
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