O&R Scams Continue to Abound

By M.C. Millman

New reports of attempted scammers trying to collect money allegedly owed for Orange & Rockland bills seem to be proliferating within Rockland.

"I received a phone call from someone telling me my payment was late," Aviva Davidson, a Pleasant Ridge resident, shares with Rockland Daily. "I told them, 'Thank you so much for letting me know.'"

As the conversation went on, Aviva moved on to her computer to check her account. She noticed she was indeed two days late on her bill and so she paid the $400 online.

"Thank you so much, I just paid it," she told her caller, who then told her that since she was late, it wasn't going to work that way. "They told me they're going to have to return the money I had paid online and that I was going to have to QuickPay them instead. I asked them, 'Why would I want to do that?' and they told me, 'Because we are going to send someone out, and they will cancel your gas.'"

At this point, Aviva was suspicious enough to ask them to tell her what her account number was. When they couldn't answer, she called O&R, who told her her payment had gone through fine and that the call was a scam.

Another reported instance of an attempted O&R scam took place in person. A man in an O&R uniform claiming to have an overdue bill for the owner threatened that the electricity was about to get turned off. When the power did shut off at that moment, the homeowner called O&R, who said someone had called in to request the service be turned off but not because of a billing issue.

Orange & Rockland would not shut off the power without providing ample warning. They also do not send representatives to homes to collect bills in person. 

Rocklanders should beware of O&R and any other scams that might follow similar patterns.