For Immediate Release
Contact
ComEd Media Relations
312-394-3500
Utilities United Against Scams Day raises awareness and provides customers with information to protect themselves
CHICAGO (Nov. 14, 2018) – ComEd is joining more than 100 energy companies across the United States and Canada in the effort to protect customers from scams targeting customers of electric, natural gas, water, and other utilities. ComEd and its sister Exelon companies – Atlantic City Electric, BGE, Delmarva Power, PECO, and Pepco – are committed to educating customers and putting a stop to scamming.
Energy companies have joined together for a third year to designate Nov. 14 as Utilities United Against Scams Day. A weeklong campaign, including social media and online content, will focus on exposing the tricks scammers use to steal money from customers and how customers can protect themselves. The effort, which includes industry member organizations such as Edison Electric Institute, encourages companies to share these messages to help guard against scam and imposter activity.
"ComEd is committed to empowering our customers to recognize fraudulent activities and avoid becoming victims to scams," said Jane Park, senior vice president of Customer Operations at ComEd. "It's important that we bring information about how scammers operate to light to ensure that our customers can take the proper steps to protect themselves."
Customers who fall victim to scams typically receive an unsolicited phone call from someone who falsely claims to be a company representative. The scammer warns that the customer's service will be shut off if they fail to make a payment – usually within a short timeframe through a prepaid debit card.
Some scammers copy the upfront Interactive Voice Response system of some companies, so that when customers call the number the scammer provides, it sounds like a legitimate business. Some scammers also use caller ID "spoofing" to replicate a utility company's phone number.
Red flags for scam activity:
How to protect yourself:
Customers can avoid being scammed by taking a few precautions:
Any ComEd customer who believes he or she has been a target of a scam should contact their local police and call the company immediately at 1-800-334-7661 to report the situation. For additional information, please go to www.ComEd.com/scams.
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ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.