Crime & Safety

Police: Beware of Con Artists Posing as Con Edison

A scammer targeted a Port Chester man by posing as a Con Ed employee looking to collect on a past-due utility bill.

A man posing as a utility bill collector was actually a con artist, not Con Edison.

Port Chester police want the public to be aware of the scam after a 67-year-old Orchard Street man was targeted over the weekend.

The victim received a call at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday from the scammer, who told the victim he owed more than $400 because the company had not received payment for last month's utility bill.

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The caller said the Port Chester man could avoid having his power cut off by going to Walgreens and purchasing a prepaid MoneyPak. He left a call-back number and asked the PC man to get back to him with a code to release payment, Lt. James Ladeairous said.

The Port Chester man was suspicious and called Con Edison. A company representative told him his account was up-to-date and the caller was not a Con Edison employee. He also instructed the would-be victim to file a police report.

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The call-back number left by the scammer includes a central California area code. Port Chester police want the public to know about the scam -- anyone who receives similar calls should report them to police at 914-939-1000.

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