LOS ANGELES, May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) is alerting customers to be aware of people posing as gas company employees to gain entry to a customer's home for the purpose of committing a crime. SoCalGas wants to assure customers that employees who perform in-home appliance services, work on gas meters, or service natural gas pipelines wear uniforms and carry official photo identification while on the job. 

"SoCalGas encourages customers to verify the uniform and proper identification of utility workers before letting anyone into their home or property," said Jimmie Cho, SoCalGas vice president of field services. "Customer safety is a top priority for SoCalGas and our employees will gladly wait while customers confirm their identity."

The following tips can help customers avoid being a victim of utility impostors:

• Customers are encouraged to be vigilant and question anyone who presents themselves as a representative of SoCalGas, especially if the visit is unscheduled.
• Customers should ask for identification before allowing someone into the home. SoCalGas workers who perform in-home appliance services, work on gas meters or work on gas pipeline wear uniforms. However, some other employees do not.
• The majority of authorized SoCalGas field service employees will be in uniform with a SoCalGas company logo, carry an official employee badge with a photo, and most of the time drive a company car bearing the SoCalGas logo.
• Most SoCalGas employee visits are in response to a service request. If no one scheduled an appointment, call SoCalGas before allowing anyone into the home.
• To verify the authenticity of anyone claiming to be a representative of SoCalGas, customers are encouraged to ask for proper identification or call SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 (or 1-800-342-4545 in Spanish) during normal business hours. SoCalGas customer service representatives are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Visit socalgas.com/safety for more information on staying safe.

News media can get the latest news by following @SoCalGasNews on Twitter.

About Southern California Gas Co.
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has been delivering clean, safe and reliable natural gas to its customers for 145 years.  It is the nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, providing service to 20.9 million consumers connected through nearly 5.8 million meters in more than 500 communities.  The company's service territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles throughout central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border.  SoCalGas is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE).

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SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.