Con Edison Warns Customers: Don’t Fall Victim to Scammers; Awareness is Your Best Defense

The scammers who try to rip off Con Edison customers study technology and how they can use it to steal money and personal information.

Scammers use personal visits, phone calls, email, texts and other methods to contact Con Edison customers and trick them into giving up their money or personal information.

They are not choosy as they look for potential victims. They target business and residential customers, customers in the five boroughs and customers in Westchester County.

“Scammers never stop looking for new ways to steal,” said Michael Murphy, vice president, Customer Operations, for Con Edison. “We have heard sad stories about scammers taking hundreds, even thousands, of dollars from our customers. We urge our customers to be aware of the tactics scammers use, so they can protect themselves from theft, and to contact us if they are unsure about a payment method, suspicious about someone claiming to be from Con Edison or have a question about billing.”

Con Edison has produced a video about avoiding scams.

Con Edison shares information about scam prevention with more than 150 utilities and trade associations in North America that are members of Utilities United Against Scams. A group called the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners has declared this week to be International Fraud Awareness Week.

The company offers its 3.7 million customers these and other tips on avoiding scams:

• Con Edison will never ask for personally identifiable information (PII), such as a Social Security Number, date of birth, account number, account balance, payment information or address. If you’re asked for any of this information, hang up immediately and call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). Scammers can spoof caller IDs to make it appear that a call is from Con Edison.
• Callers may instruct the customer to buy a prepaid card to pay a bill or face immediate termination of service. The scammers can then steal the money on the card.
• We don’t solicit payments through prepaid gift cards, or cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Hang up if you’re asked to make a payment via these methods. If you need to make a payment, you can do so safely at conEd.com.
• Con Edison currently does not accept payment via prepaid gift cards, debit cards, or cash apps (like Venmo, Zelle, or PayPal). Someone who asks you to make a payment via one of these methods is a scammer.
• If you receive an email claiming to be from Con Edison, check the sender’s address before taking any action. Our emails always come from an account ending in coned.com. If the address doesn’t match, don’t click on any links.
• If someone claiming to be a Con Edison employee shows up at your door, ask to see the person’s employee ID before letting the person inside your home. Call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633) to verify an employee’s name and ID number.
• Be aware of unsolicited offers for discounts or refunds requiring personal or banking information.

Con Edison urges customers to be particularly aware that scammers may knock on their door, claim to be from the company and try to talk their way inside. Once inside, these criminals have stolen money and property. In the worst instances, they have committed assaults. How to Recognize Our Employees

• Our employees wear a photo ID with their name and employee number.
• An employee will gladly give you a supervisor’s name and the unique “ticket” number assigned to your job. If you still have doubts, call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633) to verify the person’s identity.

Con Edison works closely with cybersecurity experts and law enforcement agencies to track and disrupt scams.