Scammers Are Targeting Gas Customers, Avella Says

State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, said residents in the five boroughs should be aware of a citywide scam during which individuals claiming to be from National Grid and Con Edison have been swindling homeowners.

Residents have complained of receiving calls from individuals purporting to work for “Brooklyn Gas” or “Brooklyn Union Maintenance,” who call homeowners to schedule “overdue inspections,” the senator said.

Once the fake inspectors arrive at the victim’s home, they convince them that they need emergency repairs and ask the homeowners to pay in advance.

“Today, homeowners are faced with numerous inspections and fines for things they don’t even realize are their responsibility,” Avella said. “Scams like these prey on that lack of knowledge and allow con artists to take advantage of unassuming homeowners that want to follow the rules.”

The senator said he was contacted earlier this year by a northeast Queens resident whose mother was a victim of the scam.

The woman scheduled an appointment with the scammers and then an inspector named “Dylan” showed up at her home to take a look at the chimney in her basement.

The man, who said he was a Brooklyn Union Maintenance Company representative from National Grid, convinced the victim that an emergency repair was required to prevent an explosion, Avella said.

The woman paid the scam artist a total $1,350 for repairs that were never completed, leaving her basement in a state of disrepair.

In another incident reported to Avella’s office, Queens resident Diane Capeta was told by a man claiming to be from the “Brooklyn Union Maintenance” group that her home needed a carbon monoxide reading.

But when she called National Grid, the utility told her they had never heard of the maintenance group.

“I was immediately suspicious and felt that us elderly are being preyed upon, as usual,” Capeta said. “Unfortunately, people like to prey on other people, especially with the economy being what it is.”

Avella has called on the offices of the Queens district attorney and the state attorney general to investigate the scams.