Be wary of in-person, phone scams from energy impersonators

Scam phone calls and emails aren’t just an inconvenience. They can ruin your credit and your online reputation.

But it’s hard to determine if something’s a scam when it’s wearing the name of a company we recognize.

Scammers posing as PG&E workers have been going door-to-door asking for your information.

“Our area alone in Eureka has experienced 172 attempts, and Arcata has experienced at least 40 attempts and is committed to helping our customers recognize these scams so we don’t fall for them,” PG&E Division Operations Specialist Mike Crafton said.

The in-person scammers seem very helpful, wanting to find you the lowest gas and electric rates claiming you could save hundreds of dollars, but then they want to see your financial information.

“Some of the signs where somebody walks up to your door and knocks on your door is looking for the PG&E vest, PG&E clothes, branding and stuff and all of our employees carry a badge. So if you have any questions, ask for identification,” Crafton said.

Scammers are also phishing for information on the phone pretending PG&E when calling customers.

“They try to impersonate trusted phone numbers. So they do something called spoofing, where they’ll spoof a legitimate phone number. If it doesn’t feel right, though, immediately hang up and you can always call one 800 743 5000 and talk to our live service rep,” Crafton said.

These scammers will ask customers to pay for their services or “disconnected” lines with prepaid cards and much more.

The financial damage this year from scams is staggering.

“It’s a little alarming how many people actually are trying to scam PG&E and PG&E customers across the service territory. Like I said, $334,000 already in just 2024 is a lot. But if you are experiencing something like this, you can log in to pge.com/scams to report it, or you can also go to consumer.ftc.gov/scams to be able to report this,” Crafton said.

People claiming to be with the Redwood Coast Energy Authority have also been seen going door-to-door wanting your personal information or to see your electric bill.