National Grid impostors have resurfaced

Posted 12/18/14

Scam artists are back, trying to con Rhode Island businesses out of hundreds of dollars claiming an overdue National Grid payment. At least two small business owners were scammed out of hundreds of …

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National Grid impostors have resurfaced

Posted

Scam artists are back, trying to con Rhode Island businesses out of hundreds of dollars claiming an overdue National Grid payment. At least two small business owners were scammed out of hundreds of dollars.

A person claiming to be from National Grid contacted the owners and told them their electricity will be shut off immediately for past due amounts. To avoid shutoff, the business owner is instructed to purchase a pre-paid debit card, call back a given phone number and provide the account information over the telephone. The return telephone number is designed to look like a legitimate phone number associated with National Grid.

In the most recent calls, the illegitimate National Grid representative may have had information, such as the account number, last payment date and amount, and other details identifiable to the account, which leads the account holder to believe that call is legitimate. They may get that information by sorting through discarded bills found in trash, so it is advisable to shred business correspondence before dumping it.

“Scam artists are banking on business owners concentrating more on year-end sales and their own holiday plans to realize they are being conned,” said Attorney General Peter Kilmartin. “These scams are becoming increasingly more sophisticated in their approach to be given an air of legitimacy. It’s a neverending battle to keep up with this con.”

Kilmartin reminds all business owners and residents that National Grid may contact customers with past due balances by phone to offer payment options but never demands direct payment over the telephone and never with a pre-paid debit card. 

Customers who have received these calls should contact National Grid immediately at National Grid’s Customer Contact Center at 1-800-322-3223. In addition, consumers should report the scam with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (“IC3”) at www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.

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