Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR), Northwest Natural Gas Company, dba NW Natural (NYSE:NWN), and Pacific Power customers are targets of a widespread scam over email. The scam emails have so far claimed to be from Atmos Energy, a natural gas utility based in Dallas, Texas and PG&E, a combined natural gas and electric utility in San Francisco, California, that is not affiliated with PGE in Oregon. The emails have been sent to people throughout the United States including to customers of PGE, NW Natural and Pacific Power. The fraudulent billing message tells customers that their Atmos or PG&E bill is ready and provides a hyperlink to view it. If the recipient clicks on the link, it takes them to a compromised website that harbors malware. Anyone who receives this email should not click on any hyperlinks. If PGE, NW Natural or Pacific Power customers are not sure about the authenticity of an email that appears to come from their utility, they are encouraged to go directly to the PGE website, www.portlandgeneral.com, NW Natural website, www.nwnatural.com, or Pacific Power website, www.pacificpower.net where they can log into their accounts and review their statements. If you have any questions regarding this scam, customers can also contact PGE customer service at 503-228-6322 or 800-542-8818, NW Natural at 800-422-4012 or Pacific Power at 888-221-7070.
