The winter holidays are here, and with the hustle and bustle surrounding us, our guard is often down, opening the door to fraudsters. While scammers work year-round, they prey on the increased usage of online payments and the web during the holidays, especially major shopping holidays.

There is also a surge in fraudulent phone calls by scammers who impersonate Southern California Edison employees.

In a recent case, scammers called Tracy M. from Rancho Cucamonga on her cellphone, saying SCE contracted them.

“They gave me an 866-toll number, said to call it and pay a past-due balance, or my service would be disconnected immediately,” she said. Tracy panicked and called the number. “It seemed real when I called, they said it was SCE with the on-hold music and multiple people transferring me on the call, so I paid them. It is heartbreaking to lose several hundred dollars right before the holidays.”

Tracy figured out it was a scam when the fraudsters mentioned that her bill payments from this year never went through and she owed even more money.

“The best way for customers to protect themselves against energy company phone scams is to educate themselves, their families and friends about receiving telephone calls from individuals claiming to be with SCE demanding money for payment,” said Randy White, SCE’s manager of Physical Security Operations.

“SCE will not call you and be aggressive instructing payments for past-due balances. Our employees never demand immediate payment or ask you to send money through Zelle, Bitcoin or a prepaid credit card to prevent your electricity from being shut off. We will never require you to use a specific or single form of payment.”

This year, more than 6,000 SCE customers received scam calls asking for more than $2.2 million. While the types of scams haven’t changed much, the amount of money customers are losing is increasing because scammers tell customers, “the payment didn’t go through” or “it was the wrong amount, and you will be refunded.” So far this year, 442 SCE customers have paid scammers nearly $420,000.

This holiday season, SCE reminds customers and the public to stay alert and beware of impostors posing as SCE representatives and asking for money. Law enforcement says this is the time of year when energy company phone scams spike.

Customers targeted by a suspected utility bill scam should confirm their payment status through their online account or report the scam by calling SCE at 1-800-655-4555, emailing SCE at csinfogov@sce.com or completing SCE’s online fraud form. They should also report the scam attempt to local law enforcement.