ALERT – Beware of Fraudsters Posing as Your Utility Company – According to NJ.com, an increased number of scam artists have been trying to trick Public Service Electric & Gas (“PSE&G”) customers into parting with their money. According to the article, quoting a PSE&G news release, “[t]he would-be thieves are calling customers and telling them their service will be disconnected if they don’t immediately pay their bill with a pre-paid card.” Beware of scammers attempting to steal your money by posing as a utility company. Remember to never provide personal information over the phone and be suspicious of anyone purporting to be from a utility asking that you pay money using a pre-paid credit card, money order, or wire transfer. If you believe a call supposedly from a utility company may be a scam, hang up the phone and call the utility from a number provided in a past bill or statement to verify whether this is a scam or not.
ALERT – IRS Scams Now Operate Year-Round, Not Just Tax Time – The Division of Consumer Affairs is getting reports of IRS scam calls being received, not only during tax time, but year round. One resident of Morris County received a computerized voicemail recently indicating that the IRS was going to be filing a “lawsuit” against the resident and to call a phone number “immediately” to receive information about how to resolve the “case.” Phone calls threatening lawsuits and even arrest are scams and are not legitimately from the IRS. The IRS monitors such scams and information concerning this and other other scams can be found on their website www.irs.gov/uac/tax-scams-consumer-alerts.
ALERT – Division of Consumer Affairs Files Action Against Emergency Medical Response System Companies Targeting Seniors – On September 14th, the Division announced the filing of a complaint against Monmouth County companies operating under the names “Life Aid Connect,” “Safety Alert USA LLC,” “Med Aid Alert,” and “Mobile Alert, Inc.” The complaint alleges that these businesses defrauded senior citizens into purchasing emergency alert wireless systems that were never delivered, did not operate properly, or did not operate at all through “highly aggressive and misleading” telemarketing. If any senior has a complaint against these companies, please contact the Division of Consumer Affairs at (800) 242-5846 or (973) 504-6200.
