PA officials warn of utility scam calls

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) recently issued a consumer alert warning about a scam involving telephone calls that falsely claim to be from the PUC – using the phone number of the Commission’s Philadelphia office as the caller ID.

The PUC has received more than 70 calls in one day alone from concerned consumers who say they received suspicious phone calls appearing to come from the commission.

The scam callers are fraudulently using the PUC’s phone number in their caller ID – a practice known as “spoofing” – to mislead consumers and pressure them into making payments.

According to reports from consumers and staff:

• The callers claim to be representatives of the PUC.
• They tell consumers that PECO, PPL, or another utility has reported a request to switch the consumer to a different utility or energy supplier.
• If the consumer questions the switch, the scammers claim to have a voice recording of the consumer authorizing it.
• The caller then falsely states that the only way to cancel the switch and remain with the utility is to pay a cancellation fee immediately – or face termination of service.

Important Reminder: The PUC does not make direct calls to consumers to demand payment, confirm supplier switches, or threaten termination.

Many consumers said they didn’t answer the call, but returned the number after researching it and discovering it belongs to the PUC’s Philadelphia office.

The PUC has reported this incident to law enforcement and is reaching out to utilities across the state to alert them about these potential scam calls and to gather any relevant information they may have from their customer service teams or fraud prevention units.

Scam Prevention Tips

The PUC offered the following tips to help consumers protect themselves against utility scams:

• Do not provide personal or financial information to unsolicited callers. Hang up immediately.
• Do not pay unknown callers or provide them with personal information such utility account information, bank account details, credit card, driver license, date of birth, social security number, or address information.
• Never trust caller ID alone. Scammers can spoof legitimate phone numbers to make the call appear credible.
• Contact your utility or supplier directly using the phone number on your bill if you have questions about your account or a potential switch.
• Be aware that utilities may contact customers by phone if a bill is seriously overdue, but these calls are usually part of a broader series of written and electronic notices about a delinquent account or possible termination. If you’re unsure whether a call is legitimate, always contact your utility’s official customer service hotline.
• Report suspicious calls to your utility and the PUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services at
  1-800-692-7380 or online at puc.pa.gov.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov or call 1-877-FTC-HELP.
• Consider blocking or screening unknown numbers.

The PUC will continue to monitor this situation and work with law enforcement and utility partners to protect Pennsylvania consumers.