Duquesne Light Warning Customers Of Telemarketing Scam

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A telemarketing scam has been targeting Duquesne Light residential customers through what is known as "call spoofing."

According to the company, customers have been getting calls from scammers claiming to be Duquesne Light employees saying the customer has an outstanding balance and threatens to shut off their service if payment is not received within 30 minutes.

The scammers have been able to manipulate their called ID to appear as the actual Duquesne Light customer service line, 412-393-7100.

Duquesne Light has noticed these calls have recently escalated.

They are reminding customers they should never make a payment to anyone calling demanding immediate payment. If a customer gets that call, they're recommending hanging up and calling back directly to see if they do owe an outstanding balance.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Duquesne Light has suspended late fees and shut-offs for all customers, but they also want customers to know that even during normal operations, shut-offs would not happen within a 30-minute window with only one notice.

Duquesne Light says that despite scammers quoting a specific dollar amount to appear legitimate, no customer records have been compromised.

"This deceptive activity, especially during a global pandemic, is a cynical attempt by scammers to take advantage of our most vulnerable customers at the most uncertain time in generations," the company said in a statement. "It compromises Duquesne Light's ability to successfully reach its customers in the event of legitimate service interruptions or safety issues if the customers begin to block or ignore Duquesne Light's authentic attempts to contact them. We will continue to work with our partners to do everything we can to coordinate and continue our robust customer protection efforts."