Victim Location 21211
Type of a scam Utility
received a call today at 11:54 AM from 443-438-4422. I heard a recorded message stating it was a call from BGE and this was my final notice prior to my service being terminated. A toll-free number was provided to call in order to speak to someone concerning payment on my account.
I press "1" instead to be connected to a representative and I immediately asked the name of the company. I was asked for the phone number I was called on, and I immediately asked to speak with a supervisor. I was told the person to whom I was speaking (Tom) was the manager on the floor. When I refused the call disconnected.
I then called the toll-free number (1-800-961-8174) provided in the recorded message and was connected to a representative that only spoke Spanish. I explained I did not speak Spanish and the call was disconnected
Victim Location 21009
Total money lost $2,500
Type of a scam Utility
Caller stated that the electric would be turned off at one of our business buildings. When calling back to the number a BGE recording did come on. A woman who claimed her name was Elizabeth Thompson said the bill had to be paid in cash by 4pm in order to stop the interruption of service. Said where to make a payment which was a kiosk. Cash payment was made. Receipt stated it was a Bitcoin receipt. BGE said this was a scam.
Victim Location 21009
Total money lost $2,500
Type of a scam Utility
Caller stated that the electric would be turned off at one of our business buildings. When calling back to the number a BGE recording did come on. A woman who claimed her name was Elizabeth Thompson said the bill had to be paid in cash by 4pm in order to stop the interruption of service. Said where to make a payment which was a kiosk. Cash payment was made. Receipt stated it was a Bitcoin receipt. BGE said this was a scam.
Victim Location 21044
Type of a scam Utility
I received a phone call from "Max" who stated several times he was an employee of BGE and informed me that if I did not "confirm" the change to a different energy provider, my electricity would be cut off in 48 hours. I requested his phone number as I knew it was a scam but wanted to follow up with BGE directly. He gave me his cell phone number. Obviously, he was not an employee of BGE and when the representative from BGE attempted to do a conference call with the three of us, when he picked up the phone, he hung up immediately. He called me back within 2 minutes and said that he was from "BGE Headquarters" and was aware I had contacted BGE; however, he was from a different dept. and I needed to make a decision ASAP. Again, I told him I would have to call him back.
Victim Location 21046
Type of a scam Utility
Although the caller began by saying that I was receiving a 30% BGE discount for having been such a faithful customer (which of course immediately sounds fishy), I did not proceed far enough into the call to clearly identify the scam. The caller hung up on me. I suspect this is actually an identity theft call.
Victim Location 21206
Type of a scam Utility
Scammers keep calling me using BGE no.1-800-685-0123 telling me I won a bonus all I need to do is provide info.I can hear other people in back ground.I called BGE they no nothing about someone calling me from dept. Not noted in computer it’s a scam using BGE real no. They called me a week straight.
Victim Location 21075
Type of a scam Utility
The person said his name was Max Lopez and that he is calling about an outstanding bill from BGE and that we had 45 minutes to make payment or the power and gas would be turned off. We are set up with auto-pay and I had already received the notification as I do every month that my payment would be processed on a specific date so I knew it wasn’t real. When I called the number Max gave us it was very realistic almost the exact same message as the real BGE number. I spoke with BGE to let them know all the information they gave. This is the second possibly the third time they have tried scamming our small business.
Victim Location 21144
Type of a scam Utility
An attempt to get receiver to answer "YES" and get account number.
Victim Location 21401
Type of a scam Utility
Person from "BGE" called my place of business to warn us of turn off of service. Called multiple times on 5/10. Called on 5/11, the phone number was given to me since I handle the billing. I called the number, presented them with my correct BGE account number so they could look up the info. THey told me technicians were en route to turn off service. I asked what the reasoning was, he said "3 or 4 months late on payments and we need payments". I told him that was impossible since I paid last months bill online myself and have auto pay set up on my account. He got defensive and said watch how I speak to him.
I asked him for the amount of these "3 or 4 months" and he said to take it up with the techs when they arrive. I replied techs do not handle financial or billing aspects, you should have all the info there since my account is in front of you and how come wasn’t mailed a turn off notice like BGE makes a practice of doing. Asked for his name, said Mike Daniels, proceeded to hang up the phone. Called back, when he answered trying to use a woman’s voice he simply said "why dont you suck my d***".
I called the legit BGE to confirm my account was in good standing, and reported the scam to them as well. The rep told me that this number has already been reported to them and their security were working on it.
Victim Location 21046
Type of a scam Utility
I got a call from a woman saying she was with BGE and that they were going to all of their "local customers" offering a free home energy evaluation. She said a rep. would come to my home on a convenient date and spend 30 minutes evaluating the insulation, heating, cooling, light bulbs, etc and replace anything that wasn’t energy efficient, for example, the hot water heater (!) So I said, "Do you mean to tell me you are going to every BGE customer and making these improvements at no cost?" I questioned how they could afford to do that and how did they determine whose home to call? Then I realized she had said BGE not BG & E which I think is very misleading- I am a BG&E customer, I have never used BGE for anything. Just to make sure I heard her right, I went back over everything she had said and THEN said, "Didn’t you mean to tell me you are not Balt Gas & Electric, and that you want to schedule a salesman to come over to tell me what I need to do and then after you make "improvements" you will hit me with a bill?" Then she hung up abruptly. I got the phone # by calling *69. I am concerned that an elderly person especially could be totally misled with this "free improvement" scam- she did NOT say "free evaluation and then you pay for the improvements" she said the improvements were free. I can imagine an older person (esp if alone) letting someone in their house and being talked in to all kinds of stuff they are then told they have to pay for after the fact and feeling intimidated or that they "must have misunderstood" and pay them. The fact that they say "our customers" which I am not, and the name sounding like BG&E is misleading enough. I’ve seen their trucks and I know they have a disclaimer on them (about not being BG&E) I think a) they should have to state that, b) they shouldn’t call people and lie c) they shouldn’t call people on the DO NOT CALL registry which i believe I am (therefore, I thought it was BG&E at first). Thank you .