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Squeeze Inn Owner Falls Victim To Scammer Claiming He Was From PG&E

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The owner of the Squeeze Inn was the victim of a crafty scam that targeted his restaurant, and one that's been happening more often.

Someone called Travis Hausauer claiming they were from Pacific Gas & Electric and that they were on their way to the Squeeze Inn to shut off the gas.

The owner had to get a GreenDot MoneyPak card for $1,000 to keep the gas on. Hausauer knew he paid his bill, but they told him there was a mistake.

"The problem is what I did, I panicked which I think the other people would probably do thinking they'd shut you down," he said.

But once you give the bad guys info off of the back of a pre-paid money card, it's as good as cash and long gone.

These guys are so good, they trick the called ID to make it look like they were really calling from PG&E.

One way to figure out if it's a scammer is to hang up and call the number on your bill.

The scam isn't limited to PG&E. Callers have claimed to be from the Internal Revenue Service, the sheriff's department, the courts, or even payday loan companies.

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