PSE&G Warns Customers About Uptick In Phone Payment Scams

NEWARK, N.J. (CBS) -- Public Service Electric and Gas Company, New Jersey's largest utility, is warning its customers about a scam that targets small businesses.

The utility company says individuals misrepresenting themselves as PSE&G employees are calling customers and threatening to turn off electric and gas service if payment is not made that day with a pre-paid card.

"This is an old scam with a new twist," said Greg Dunlap, vice president of Customer Operations for PSE&G. "Now some scammers are imitating PSE&G's interactive voice response system prompt menu, so when customers call them back, they hear something similar to what they would experience if they called PSE&G's customer service line."

When a fake representative answers the line, they ask for the number on the back of the pre-paid card, according to PSE&G. After the scammers have that number, the utility company says they can take the money from the card, usually within a matter of minutes.

"The number of calls we've received from customers alerting us to this scam has increased significantly in the past several weeks," Dunlap says.

When in doubt or if suspicious in any way, PSE&G urges customers to call the number listed on their bill: 1-800-436-7734.