South Brunswick Police Issue Scam Alert

South Brunswick police want to warn residents about increased reports of con artists targeting utility customers, authorities said.

South Brunswick Police issued the fraud alert in conjunction with Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L.) In the latest scam, a con artist, posing an electric utility company employee, calls the victim and “and threatens to shut off the customer’s power unless an immediate payment is made,” according to a news release from Capt. James Ryan.

“In many cases, the customer is told to pay using a pre-paid debit card, such as a Green Dot/MoneyPak card, a money transfer service like Money Gram or Western Union, or in person at a physical location,” police said.

Police also said the scammers often use Caller ID spoofing software that leads customers to believe they are receiving a call from JCP&L. In other cases, the con artists provides customers with a fake “verification” phone number, which may exact replicas of the greetings and hold messages of JCP&L’s Contact Center.

Police said residents should remember:

• “If your account is past-due, you will receive a written notice of your account status, with instructions on how to avoid disconnection of service.
• “While JCP&L representatives may call a customer whose bill is in arrears in order to remind them that a payment is due, the representative would explain how a payment can be made using JCP&L’s established payment options.
• “They will not demand a payment over the phone or at a particular physical location.
• “JCP&L does not accept prepaid debit cards or wire transfers as payment, and our representatives will not demand your bank information or credit card number over the phone.”

Police said if you get a call, hang up immediately. Anyone who has been a victim of this scam, should call police or the state Attorney General’s Office. For more information and tips, visit the Scam and Fraud Information section on the FirstEnergy website at www.firstenergycorp.com/scaminfo.