The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office has issued an alert that police departments are again being inundated with calls as scammers posing as employees of Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) target businesses in Monmouth County using intimidation tactics to steal their cash.

Incidents have been reported throughout the county. These scammers have recently targeted small businesses, including a salon, gym and a deli, with phone calls.

The scam follows along the same basic line of fear and intimidation: people are fraudulently advised that they are past due on a bill, threatened with having their power shut-off and given the opportunity to “pay” the bill within a brief period of time to avoid business disruption and embarrassment.

These phone calls have included demands for direct payments using a pre-paid debit card such as a Green Dot or MoneyPak card, reloadable debit cards or gift cards.

Calls like this should be considered a red flag that JCP&L customers  are not dealing legitimate representatives of the company but instead with a con artist.

Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni reiterated that unfortunately Monmouth County has seen this scam before, but it is necessary to repeat and remind the public that no legitimate business will demand anyone make a payment over the phone using a pre-paid debit card.

Anthony Hurley, JCP&L Vice President of Operations has previously warned that the utility will not call or email to demand immediate payment or threaten imminent shutoff. JCP&L, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, does not demand nor require payment over the phone via specific means, like using Green Dot cards or any other prepaid debit card.

JCP&L employees typically only visit a home in response to a service request and employees also always carry photo identification, wear uniforms, and drive clearly marked vehicles, Hurley has warned.
Anyone who suspects they have received a scam call should contact their local police department.

JCP&L also urges any customer who has doubts about a call from someone claiming to be from JCP&L, especially one demanding immediate payment, to call JCP&L’s customer service number at 1-800-662-3115.

JCP&L has an informative website to assist consumers with recognizing scams. Please visit https://www.firstenergycorp.com/scam-info

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office