BGE has reported its customers have lost more than $25,000 to utility scammers this past month and that the company has received nearly 1,500 scam complaints.
BGE Senior Vice President Tamla Olivier says this marks a significant increase in scam reports.
“These scammers have gotten so sophisticated when you look at your caller ID, it will literally say Baltimore Gas and Electric,” Olivier said.
Olivier says customers are getting calls saying their utilities will be shut off in one to two hours.
“That is not our process,” she said. “You will get a notification that comes to you by mail, we will call your home multiple times, and we will even roll a truck to knock on your door before that would happen.”
Maryland has a moratorium on utility shut-offs until Nov. 15. Residents behind on their utility bills will start getting termination notices Thursday.
“It just blows my mind that people would use this time to take advantage of others,” Olivier said.
She said customers should not make payments to anyone over the phone or in person or share their credit or debit card number until they’ve contacted BGE.
