BBB and ComEd team up to warn Chicagoland citizens about comon utility scams (BBB Chicago)
Based on a ComEd analysis of reported scams for the first eight months of 2023, the energy company found that, while the number of reported incidents stayed the same compared to 2021, the amount of money lost per incident increased significantly. ComEd shares tips to help its customers identify – and hopefully avoid – the latest scam trends.
Through August of this year, the number of scams reported into ComEd decreased slightly as compared to the same timeframe in 2021 (1,156 vs. 1,151). Unfortunately, the total amount of money lost as a result of these reported scams more than doubled ($86,771 vs. $175,604).
Reason to remain vigilant
As the holiday season approaches, ComEd and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Chicago and Northern Illinois ask customers to be heightened alert for imposters who will call or visit homes and businesses, then threaten to turn off service if payment is not immediately made.
Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Chicago & Northern Illinois, says “Utility scams against businesses are also more prevalent during the holiday season because many restaurants and retail businesses depend so much on November and December for the peak sales for their businesses. The fear of losing power and having to close down their business often clouds the common sense necessary to think before they act. It’s a busy time of the year for reports of both utility and online scams being reported to the BBB Scamtracker.”
“Scammers use the holiday season as the time to increase their attempts to separate us from our money and even personal information, like Social Security or bank account numbers,” said Melissa Washington, ComEd chief customer officer and senior vice president of customer operations. “Scammers know that we’re busier this time of year; distracted with plans and paying less attention to our spending and bill-paying habits. They use urgency to make their demands sound more believable. But what our customers need to know is that ComEd will never demand immediate payment under threat of disconnection.”
Last year, ComEd noticed a rise in scammers demanding payment through mobile banking apps because they often have higher transaction limits than pre-paid cash cards. In some instances, the scammer will falsely claim not to have received a payment to get the victim to transfer money two or three times, allowing imposters to scam victims out of thousands of dollars with a single encounter.
Scammers turn to crypto and QR codes
Recently, ComEd also noticed two new trends from scammers. The first includes demands for bogus payments in the form of cryptocurrency since transactions are harder to trace. The second trend involves scammers’ use of QR codes to solicit fraudulent payments. In this latter instance, imposters provide customers with QR codes and instructions to present the code to foster payment through retailers like Walmart and Walgreens, without the knowledge or consent of those stores.
Tips to help identify scam attempts
ComEd will never call or visit your home or business to:
Tips to help identify a true ComEd employee
- All ComEd field employees wear a uniform with the ComEd logo and visibly display a company ID badge with the logo and employee’s name.
- ComEd recently changed its logo, so customers may continue to see the former ComEd logo on uniforms, badges and vehicles until the logo is phased out.
- If customers are ever unsure about whether a person knocking at their door is a true ComEd employee, they are encouraged to close and lock their door, and call ComEd from a trusted phone number – which is 800-EDISON1 (800-334-7661). A true ComEd employee will not mind waiting.