Fake ComEd Employee Rips Off Heights Woman

A team of scammers pretending to be ComEd employees have been ripping off customers across the region, and they recently hit an unsuspecting Chicago Heights woman.

Police say a man going by the name “Ricardo Garcia” claimed to work for ComEd when he called a Chicago Heights woman in the 300 block of E. 22nd Street around 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 18. 

“Garcia” told the woman she needed to pay him $305 through prepaid debit cards to cover the cost of utility repair work. The woman purchased two prepaid debit cards with a total combined value of $305. She called “Garcia” back and gave him both card numbers.

After the woman gave “Garcia” the money, she began receiving a blast of phone calls by “Garcia” and a new caller by the name of “Nancy Pineda.” Both were asking for more money. The woman says she received nearly 24 calls between the two of them within an hour’s time.

The intense flurry of phone calls made the woman suspicious, so she called ComEd to follow up on the “employees.” ComEd told the woman her callers were not employees of the company, and that this is a recurring problem that they are aware of, according to the report.

If you would like to verify an employee of the company, official ComEd customer support can be reached at 800-334-7661. Press 1, then 4, then 0, then 0 again to talk to a human.