Long Island man says phone scammers knew his exact account number, balance due

Utilities are warning their customers that criminals have been posing as electric company workers, and they have been armed with information a customer would think only the utility would know. 

Staffing company founder Steven Weinstein says he's vigilant about spam calls. His guard was up when he got a call Friday from PSEG's phone number. 

"We are shutting your power off. I'm alerting you it's going to be sometime today," Weinstein said he was told. 

Weinstein didn't buy it until the caller revealed something that seemed to prove he was legit. 

"I said 'So how much do I owe?' He knew the exact amount - exact. He knew my account number," Weinstein said. "It matched perfectly." 

The caller had Weinstein make a $500 cash payment at a 7/11. 

"The guy's still on the phone, supposedly PSEG. He said 'You're done, I'll send you a confirmation.' And he had my email - no confirmation," Weinstein said.

Weinstein called PSEG himself. 

"I tell the story. She goes, 'I think you were scammed,'" he said. 

PSEG Long Island has been warning customers about caller ID spoofing, but this incident raises troubling questions about how the caller knew Weinstein's account number and balance due. 

"We have seen this before," PSEG LI asset protection specialist Robert Vessichelli said. "You have people involved in identity theft that literally drive down streets and open up mailboxes." 

PSEG Long Island says it has found no evidence its systems were hacked or customer accounts breached. 

"Sometimes they're just going into your garbage to find out what your bills are," said Vinny Minhas of Corsearch, a company that works to combat online impersonation. 

Minhas has the following advice. 

"Don't trust an incoming phone call. Hang up, and make sure you can call yourself," he said. "In 20 seconds, I can replicate any phone number. I can even replicate your loved ones and family members." 

Weinstein says he's speaking out to warn others because he's not just concerned about the money he lost, it's what else the scammers who called him knew. 

"That's the worrisome part. That's the part that could make people not sleep at night," Weinstein said. 

The utility says it will never call and threaten to shut off power in a day if you don't pay. That sense of urgency is exactly what scammers rely on to get your money.