These callers are not from Con Edison and Con Edison does not accept payments of electric or gas bills by pre-paid debit cards, or by MoneyGram or similar transfers, Con Ed said, noting it has seen a spike in reports from customers who were contacted by the scammers.
Con Ed said it has received complaints from residential and business customers.
The scammers sometimes even tell the customer about a store near the customer's home that sells prepaid cards, Con Ed said. The scammer instructs the customer to pay cash to put money on the card and to then provide the number on the card to the person who called. Once the customer provides the scammer with the card number, the scammer steals the money on the card.
Con Edison said it believes the scammers are calling customers randomly, not targeting just those who owe back payments.
Anyone who feels they may have been a target of an imposter or a payment scam should call their local police department. They may also call Con Edison at 1-800-75CONED.
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