There have been an increase in reports of utility bill scams in New York State, and National Grid wants to eliminate, or at least minimize, the likelihood of a scam happening to you.
Utica Police say they've received several calls regarding scammers who say they're with National Grid and threaten to turn off your power unless you pay up.
Police say complicating matters is that the scammers are able to disguise their actual phone number and calling location, so many of these fraudulent phone calls will appear with a 315 area code on your called ID...
According to police, victims are being made aware of the scam and data breach only after their employer tells them of the unemployment filing and claim for benefits.
Two Central New York senior citizens were defrauded out of over $14,000 as a result of a scam New York State Police are calling the "Grandparent Scam" or "Family Emergency Scam."