National Grid encourages customers to be cautious of scammers

Imposters contact customers, demand immediate payment, threaten to shut off service

Submitted by National Grid

Occasionally, National Grid hears from our residential and business customers about an increased volume of scam attempts. National Grid encourages customers to be cautious of scammers and to remain vigilant. If contacted by someone claiming to represent the company, National Grid recommends that customers always ask for identification.

Some tactics that scammers use include:

•Threatening the customer with immediate service shutoff without any prior notice.

•Asking the customer for payment when his or her account is current.

•Asking for an account number and/or personal or financial information. Never offer personal or financial information to someone who you cannot identify.

•Demanding immediate payment by wire transfer, Green Dot Money-Pak, prepaid debit cards, gift cards, cryptocurrencies, or third-party digital payment mobile applications. National Grid will not contact customers demanding immediate payment by using these, or any other prepaid card service.

Here’s how to stay alert to different types of utility scams:

Door-to-door scams

If someone is at your door, ask for identification. All National Grid employees carry photo ID cards that include the company logo. Any contractor doing work on behalf of the company is also required to carry identification.

If someone is requesting entry into your home or place of business and doesn’t present an ID card, don’t let that person in. Call National Grid or local law enforcement officials.

Phone

Your caller ID may display “National Grid” when a scammer is calling. If you are dealing with someone over the phone, please note that National Grid representatives will know your account number. Never offer this information to a caller and, instead, ask the caller to provide your account number to you. If the caller can’t do so, if you doubt that the caller is actually a National Grid representative, or if the caller questions you about your account balance, hang up immediately.

Call National Grid or local law enforcement officials. You can also report fraud and suspicious communications to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Credit

Consumers may fall victim to scammers who make false claims that they can assist in improving credit ratings through purchase of a credit privacy number. CPNs are nine-digit numbers that resemble Social Security numbers but are not issued by the government. Using a CPN for utility service is illegal. If you or someone you know has purchased a CPN and were misled into believing that it can be used to apply for credit, it is likely that you have become a fraud victim. For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission to learn more about credit scams. You can also report fraud to the FTC.

Email

Scammers may try to contact customers via email to lure them to click a link, visit a malicious website, reveal account information, or call a phone number.

Make sure you’re registered for National Grid emails by enrolling on our home page under “Your Account.” You can also report fraud and suspicious communications to the FTC.

Text

National Grid may contact you by text message for a variety of reasons: storm alerts, meter inspection appointments, or service work appointment confirmations.

Service appointment notifications, meter inspections, and similar notifications will come from 59528. Outage alerts will come from 64743 (NGRID). Payment or collection reminders will come from 647432 (NGRIDC). You can also report fraud and suspicious communications to the FTC.

National Grid offers more information about how to protect yourself from scams at www.nationalgridus.com/Scam-Alert.