California Highway Patrol officials are investigating an incident in which a man posed as a police officer and stole a victim’s car on Interstate 805 in San Diego.

According to CHP, the incident happened Tuesday around 1 p.m. on northbound I-805 just south of Palm Avenue.

A 28-year-old driver was traveling on I-805 in a black Jeep Patriot when a white Ford Crown Victoria began displaying a red and blue light behind the Jeep, as if signaling the driver to pull over.

The driver of the Jeep pulled over on the right shoulder of the freeway. At that point, a Hispanic man in his 20s exited the passenger side of the Crown Victoria and approached the driver.

The man was wearing a black jacket with the word “Police” across the chest and had what appeared to be a holstered handgun on his hip, investigators said.

The man asked the driver of the Jeep to exit his vehicle. The driver complied, and the man impersonating an officer got into the Jeep and drove off. The Crown Victoria then sped off, following the stolen Jeep.

The victim was not injured.

CHP officials were alerted, and the case is ongoing. Anyone with information on the car theft is asked to contact investigators at (619) 220-5492.

Police are asking for the public's help in tracking down a serial rapist who has assaulted at least eight women in South Dallas this summer.

Dallas police officials first alerted the public to the series of attacks on Tuesday when they said seven women had been victimized in six different locations. On Wednesday, police said another victim had come forward, bringing the total number of known assaults to eight.

Since issuing an alert about the attacks on Tuesday, Dallas police have received five good leads. Investigators are also rushing the results of DNA testing to verify whether the same man committed the attacks.

Meanwhile, police are saturating the area and pulling over drivers whose vehicles that match the description of the man's getaway car.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, Dallas police will hold a community meeting at True Lee Missionary Baptist Church to discuss the attacks. The church is located at 3907 Bertrand Avenue.

Eight Attacks Between June, September

Jeff Cotner, with the Dallas Police Department's Crimes Against Persons Unit, said at a news conference Tuesday night that the attacks happened between June 22 and Sept. 1. In every case, the attacker was armed with a handgun.

Cotner said the man approached his victims as they were walking in the early-morning hours, between midnight and 6 a.m., in an area bounded by East RL Thornton Freeway to the north, South Haskell Avenue to the east, Spring Avenue on the south and Malcolm X Boulevard on the west. The man demanded the women go with him to a secluded area where he then sexually assaulted them before letting them go.

Police said the attacker has been described as black, between 25 to 30 years old with a height between 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall. He is estimated to weigh 200 pounds and was last seen wearing a T-shirt and shorts. He wears prescription glasses and always covers his face with a cloth or piece of clothing to conceal his identity, according to Cotner. His glasses are being described as oval shaped and gold-rimmed.

"They all mention he's wearing glasses, he has a handgun, he's wearing a T-shirt, he's wearing shorts, he approaches them on foot. We feel as if it's the same suspect," Cotner said.

Police said the man leaves the area in a car described as either a gray Honda Civic four-door or older model gray Volvo four-door sedan.

As of Wednesday morning, Dallas police said the serial rapist has attacked eight women at the following seven locations:

• June 22: 4:45 a.m. 4600 block Metropolitan Avenue
• June 30: 2 a.m. 4100 block of Malcolm X Boulevard
• Aug. 20: 1:30 a.m. 4300 block of Spring Avenue (two victims)
• Aug. 22: 5:45 a.m. 2800 block of Warren Avenue
• Aug. 28: in the 2600 block of Second Avenue in the Fair Park area
• Aug. 30: 5:45 a.m. 3200 block of Meadow Street
• Sept. 1: 4:15 a.m. 3800 block of Spring Avenue

Some Criticise Wait in Issuing Alert

Some in the community have criticized the department for waiting so long to issue an alert to the public.

Councilman Dwaine Caraway said an alert could have been made long before a link was established between the cases.

"Not necessarily singling out there's a serial [rapist] going down, singling out the area in which all of those took place -- that's an alert," he said.

When asked why the delay in notifying the public of the serial rapist, Cotner pointed to the gap between the attacks in June and August.

"The two victims from June, the information that we developed at the time did not indicate that there was a serial. We had this gap, and we don't know -- that's part of our investigation, is why we had this large gap of six weeks," said Cotner. "Since Aug. 20 all the way through Sept. 1, we've had those five occurrences. Certainly, you can see the trend there."

Deputy Chief Sherrill Scott defended the timing of the alert, saying that some of the victims did not want to cooperate with police. Others simply needed time before they were ready to speak with investigators, Scott said.

"Sometimes it can take a week. Sometimes, it can take even longer, so that sometimes hinders our ability to connect some of these," Scott said.

Cotner said detectives are still working with the victims to gather information that could help lead to an arrest.

"Our victims all range from late teens all the way to their 40s, the commonality is the time of day, the geographic area of our city and that they're walking," Cotner said.

Neighbors Urge Caution

"There's no reason as women not to feel safe in the community that we cherish," said Fair Park neighbor Noni Thomas.

Thomas said as the sun came up Wednesday morning on the neighborhood where she's lived for 22 years, there was some relief that no one else had been attacked.

"Women in our community should be able to feel safe walking, regardless what time it is. Walk through the community without having to worry about being hurt or attacked," Thomas said.

Police warn residents in the area to take precautions, don't walk alone, walk with others or use a vehicle.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $5,000 for information the arrest and indictment. If you have information you can remain anonymous just call Crime Stoppers at 214-373-TIPS (8477).

NBC 5's Kendra Lyn, Ken Kalthoff and Lindsay Wilcox contributed to this report.

Illinois officials said Wednesday that three sets of copper-plated wooden doorways being installed at the Illinois Capitol cost the state $669,608, and that more of such doors could be installed in the years to come.

The price tag for the ornate doors, part of a $50 million renovation of the Capitol, was revealed almost two weeks after officials told reporters on a tour that the cost could not be itemized.

At a time when the state faces serious financial constraints, officials explained the cost of the doors by noting the historic nature of both the building and the doors, and that they need to last decades before having to be replaced again. They lead from the west entrance to the central rotunda.

"We must remember that these are custom doors with carvings that do not exist on a shelf at your typical home improvement store," wrote J. Richard Alsop III, the capitol architect, in an e-mail. He added that craftsmen were needed to give the doors "the desired and appropriate historic fabric."

Steve Brown, a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, said the doors are meant to bring the building as close to their original construction as possible. He stressed that the Capitol is a national historic landmark.

Alsop III told the Associated Press Wednesday that the doors cost $535,808 for materials and fabrication, $55,800 for project management and $78,000 for installation. The doors were installed in recent weeks at the Capitol's west entrance.

The project is being paid for by construction bonds that were sold by the state with the project in mind. The renovation comes at a time when state lawmakers are struggling to resolve a $100 billion unfunded public pension liability and millions in unpaid bills to schools and social service providers.

The new doors replace doors that were made of glass and metal. The original doors were composed of oak and black walnut, with bronze ornamentation, Alsop said.

The new doors are expected to last about 30 years, but officials said they will turn a dark brown in a matter of months.

In an email explaining the costs, Alsop included an exchange between himself and Frank Huschitt, president of Palatine-based Imperial Woodworking, who provided the breakdown of the doors' cost.

"The doors are stunning and that seems to be ruffling some feathers," Alsop wrote to Huschitt.

There are three other entrances to the Capitol, including the main visitors' entrance. Brown said he didn't know if a decision had been made to add similar copper-plated doors to those other entrances in the future.

"Part of it might depend on how those doors work, traffic in and out of the building," Brown said.

Gabrielle was downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday morning and continues to weaken as it heads northwest, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

As of  2 p.m., Gabrielle had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph as it moved northwest at 9 mph. It was located about 55 miles south-southeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

• Download the NBC 6 Weather App

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

Gabrielle, which became the seventh named storm of the season late Wednesday, is expected to turn toward the north-northwest Friday and decrease in speed. Some slight strengthening is possible over the next 48 hours.

• NBC 6 Interactive Radar

The center of the storm should pass near or over the southwestern portion of Puerto Rico Thursday morning and across the Mona Passage later in the day. It should move east of the Turks and Caicos Islands on Friday.

Gabrielle is expected to bring rainfall between three and six inches over Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and eastern portions of the Dominican Republic with isolated amounts of up to 12 inches. The rains could cause dangerous flash floods and mud slides over mountainous terrain.

The storm will stay well east of the United States and poses no threat to South Florida.

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A woman who was kidnapped and forced into her car by a gunman in downtown Dallas two weeks ago managed to get the attention of two teenagers in a nearby car by mouthing the words, "Help me," according to a dramatic 911 call released Wednesday.

The teens called police and officers rescued the woman within minutes. The 911 tape of the incident and a video recording from a sheriff's deputy's dashboard camera were released Wednesday after NBC 5 filed an open records request.

"Yes, I'm on the highway," Aaron Arias first told a Kaufman County Sheriff's Office dispatcher. "I'm witnessing a robbery; not a robbery -- a kidnapping."

Arias, a 19-year-old college student, and Jamal Harris, 17, a Seagoville high school student, noticed the woman in the back seat of a car at a stoplight in Seagoville.

"It's me and another guy, so we're checking out the girl in the backseat because, we're like, 'OK, she's kind of attractive,'" Arias said. "And then, all of the sudden, you know, the guy is turned back, looking at us."

The woman, 25, was kidnapped on Aug. 22 near Bryan Street after she left a downtown office building.  About an hour later, from the backseat of her car, she drew the attention of Arias and Harris.

The woman looked panicked and was "saying, 'Help me,' or something, whispering it," Arias told the 911 operator.

The teens followed the woman's car down U.S. 175 until police caught up with them in Kaufman.

"Oh my God, I'm hoping the car behind me is a police officer," Arias said. "Nope, it's not. Oh my God."

But within seconds, officers arrived and pulled over the car with the woman and the man accused of kidnapping her.

"Thank God. You guys are awesome," Arias said. "Oh my God. Oh my God. Get him! Oh my God."

The suspect, Charles Atkins Lewis Jr., remains in jail on $50,000 bond. He is charged with aggravated kidnapping.

The woman was checked by paramedics but was unhurt.

Arias, a freshman at Texas A&M in Texarkana, ironically got a tattoo of the comic book antihero Deadpool the day before, he said in a telephone interview.

Arias said he met the woman at the scene after the rescue.

"She hugs us," he remembered. "I would describe it as the best hug I have ever gotten."

He said he hopes to stay in contact with the woman but doesn't want to interfere with the investigation or court case.

Asked whether he considered himself a hero, he said, "She says we saved her life. I guess you could say we did. But I don't want to be that person who says they're a hero."

Editor's Note: The original version of this story said the woman was kidnapped Aug. 25. The date should have read Aug. 22.  We regret the error.

It’s official: Qualcomm Inc. is getting into the smart watch business.

CEO Paul Jacobs introduced the Toq, pronounced “talk,” by showing off his wrist during his keynote speech at the company’s Uplinq developer conference in San Diego on Sept. 4.

Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) said its new product will debut in the fourth quarter.

The company describes the watch as a second screen for Android mobile phones. With it, Qualcomm says, wearers will be able to manage smartphone calls, text messages, meeting reminders and various notifications from their wrist.

In mid-July, the Business Journal reported on rumors of a Qualcomm smart watch, and the growing popularity of smart watches in general. Qualcomm joins companies such as Pebble, Samsung and Sony in bringing smart watches to market. Many other companies are reportedly ready to jump into the market.

The Toq features Qualcomm’s own Mirasol display technology, which is always on. Mirasol is a reflective technology and therefore doesn’t use much power. Qualcomm says the watch will need recharging every few days, and that users can charge the watch wirelessly.

Among the product’s many features is stereo audio. The Toq will send signals to wireless headphones via Bluetooth radio technology. 

The Business Journal is the premier business publication in San Diego. Every day online and each Monday in print, the Business Journal reports on how local business operate and why businesses leaders make the decisions they do. Every story is a dose of insight into how to run a better, more efficient, more profitable business.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was in Chicago Thursday to unveil a new digital and print campaign designed to convince Chicago same-sex couples to legally marry in his city.

The "I Want To Marry You In Minneapolis" ads have already started appearing in local publications such as the Windy City Times, and feature the owners of Minneapolis businesses who are ready to help Chicago couples "plan an unforgettable wedding day."

Rybak, a vocal proponent of same-sex marriage in Minesota, discussed the campaign Thursday morning at a news conference at Boystown's Center on Halsted.

"Chicago is my kind of town, but it's a second city with human rights, and right now that gives an incredible competitive advantage to Minneapolis," Rybak said. "I hope the day comes very soon that all Illinoisans can marry the person that they love, and I strongly encourage the Legislature and Governor Quinn to pass marriage equality as soon as possible -- but until that day comes, I'm here to steal your business."

When asked if poaching business on another mayor's turf was fair, Rybak quipped, "Have you met him, Mayor Emanuel? He would do it to me any day of the week I'm sure."

Rybak made headlines on Aug. 1 when he performed 46 same-sex weddings from midnight to almost 7 a.m. to celebrate the first day that Minnesotans were allowed to legally marry. Since then, one-third of marriage applications in Minnesota have been for same-sex couples.

Illinois approved civil unions in 2011, but lawmakers failed to call gay marriage to a vote during this year's spring session. The Legislature is expected reconsider the measure during the November session.

A person died after a car and motorcycle collided in Encanto on Wednesday morning.

The incident happened around 11 a.m. at the intersection of Imperial Avenue and Viewcrest Drive.

Officials confirmed the motorcyclist was declared dead at the scene.

Police said the motorcyclist was riding in a caravan with family, who saw the whole thing happen.

Eastbound Imperial Avenue between Lisbon Street and Canton Drive is currently shut down while officials investigate.

Check back for updates on this story.

Investigators have arrested a man in connection with the slaying of a woman whose body was left behind a dumpster last month, covered in plastic and trash.

According to homicide officials, suspect Kirk Stapleton, 53, has been booked into county jail on suspicion of the murder of his girlfriend, Juanita Kawash, 47.

On Aug. 19, at around 3:45 p.m., deputies from the Vista Sheriff’s Station responded to a call of a suspicious package left near 1461 N. Santa Fe Avenue in Vista.

When deputies checked the area, they found Kawash’s deceased body on the ground behind a dumpster at the rear of a few businesses. She was covered in trash and debris.

Kawash was later identified by officials who say her last known address was in Vista. The medical examiner determined she was killed as a result of blunt force trauma.

Stapleton was then arrested in connection to her murder. Investigators say Stapleton and Kawash were in a romantic relationship at the time of her killing.

The motive for the murder has not yet been determined, and the case remains under investigation. Anyone with information on this case should contact Homicide Detail at (858) 974-2321 or (858) 565-5200, or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Stapleton is being held at the Vista Detention Facility and is not eligible for release. He’s set to appear in court on Sept. 11.
 

You might notice an increase in your electricity bill this month.

Beginning Sept. 1, San Diego Gas & Electric costs have been impacted because of the General Rate Case, which was approved by the California Public Utility Commission last month.

SDG&E alerted thousands of customers about the coming bill impact earlier this summer. Those who live in warmer, inland areas will see the most change in their bill.

An increase of more than 10 percent could be seen by customers around San Diego County, according to a cost breakdown.

A man accused of shooting and killing his pregnant teenage girlfriend and their unborn child was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder on Wednesday.

"This is a great verdict," said Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe following the jury's announcement. "We're pleased that the jury respected the life of an unborn child as well as the defendant’s girlfriend.”

Ruben Cepeda, 22, fatally shot his 18-year-old pregnant girlfriend Viridiana Rodriguez in the stomach on April 7, 2012, in their apartment at 725 N. Fig Street in Escondido.

By the time police arrived at the scene, Cepeda had fled.

Officers discovered Rodriguez inside her apartment, suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach. She was transported to a hospital, but the young mother-to-be and her unborn baby were pronounced dead about an hour later.

Rodriguez was nearly five months pregnant at the time, and was expecting a baby boy.

Cepeda was eventually captured by authorities in Mexico in June 2012. He had been sought by officials for two months on a $1 million arrest warrant in connection with the double-homicide.

At a preliminary hearing in June 2012, prosecutors said Cepeda claimed the shooting was accident. However, evidence showed the barrel of the gun was pressed directly against the victim’s stomach.

On the day of the shooting, the victim’s sister, Yemely Rodriguez, was in another room inside the apartment.

In an April 2012 interview, Yemely told NBC 7 that the couple was excited, hugging and kissing before the shooting. Yemely later heard a gunshot go off inside the apartment and found her critically wounded sister.

Yemely said that when she found her sister, Cepeda was holding Rodriguez’s stomach. He told Yemely to call 911 and then left the apartment with a friend.

Prosecutors said Cepeda’s friend, Jesse Lopez, wrapped the gun in a T-shirt before they fled the scene. Lopez was later arrested on charges of being an accessory to the double-murder.

Rodriguez’s cousin, Diana Rodriguez, told investigators that Rodriguez and Cepeda argued over an ex-girlfriend of Cepeda’s with whom he was still allegedly communicating via text messages and Facebook.

Before the fatal shooting, Cepeda had a prior conviction for robbery in 2007, according to court documents. Cepeda was also a documented gang member.

Watanabe says Cepeda faces 80 years to life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 11.

Following Wednesday's verdict, Watanabe says he spoke with the victim's father, who said the Rodriguez family was pleased with the verdict and thanked the jury for their service.

Three men were arrested after deputies discovered thousands of marijuana plants growing in several greenhouses in Fallbrook, officials said.

On Tuesday – after observing and investigating an area suspected to be the site of a large marijuana grow – officials served a search warrant in the 2200 block of Rainbow Valley Boulevard.

After searching several greenhouses and plant nurseries, deputies from the Crime Suppression Team and officials from the Narcotics Task Force discovered 3,379 pot plants in the area. The plants had a potential yield of $7 million in street value, according to investigators.

Investigators had witnessed three men tending to the grow. As they left the property, they were arrested by officials on suspicion of cultivating marijuana.

Their names were not released.
 

Multiple San Diego neighborhoods experienced a power outage on Wednesday, according to San Diego Gas and Electric.

Roughly 2,000 customers throughout the county were affected.

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System said trolleys were temporarily delayed up to 20 minutes on the Green and Orange Lines because of the outage.

Here is a list of areas where some people were left without power:

• El Cajon
• Fletcher Hills
• La Mesa
• Mt. Helix
• Viejas
• Descanso
• Boulder Creek
• North Vista
• Green Valley Falls
• Chula Vista
• Castle Park
• Otay
• Guatay
• Pine Valley
• Mount Laguna

Restoration times varied and SDG&E crews worked to restore electricity. As of 7 p.m., almost all of the impacted communities had their power back.

The Broncos and the Grizzlies face off in NBC 7's Game of the Week Friday.

Mission Hills San Marcos and Rancho Bernardo meet at 7 p.m. at Rancho Bernardo.

This is MHSM's 10th year as a school, and already there's much to celebrate. The school welcomes a new principal, Courtney Goode, and its dance team was recently ranked eigth in nation.

The football team was the runner up last year in its CIF division, and the school's baseball and boys' basketball teams are CIF defending champions.

Rancho Bernardo is also gearing up for the big game. NBC 7 will be live from there Friday morning as cheerleaders, dancers, peer counselors, and other student groups will be there for Game of the Week.

Many affectionately call military jet noise "the sound of freedom.” It's certainly a welcome sound to Marines on the ground in war zones. However, some homeowners near Brown field say the sound of an F/A-18 in the skies has become a real nuisance.

"It looks like you could almost reach up and touch them," said Glenn Peterson, describing F/A-18's from MCAS Miramar, flying out of Brown Field.

He's lived less than two miles from the departure end of runway 26 at Brown for 10 years, but says the jet noise has become a problem for his neighborhood.

According to the City of San Diego's aircraft noise complaint office, there have been 180 complaints from 17 households, mostly in Otay Mesa, this year.

But according to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing ,there is a good reason: "We are protecting your right to complain," said Col. Christopher Keane, USMC, the Third Marine Aircraft Wing’s Inspector General.

With reduced hours at their air station in Miramar, Brown field allows the Marines to train on the weekends. It also reduces the time and cost of maintenance.

Each time an F/A-18 lands at MCAS Miramar, it requires a full inspection, but that's not the case for other fields. "By going to Brown Field, we can apply some cross-country rules, minimize the man-hours required to generate the sorties we need out of Miramar," said Keane.

There are also specific rules pilots must follow at Brown Field.

"After takeoff they're out of afterburner before they leave the runway, and on takeoff they're up to 4,500 as quickly as possible, and they fly a very specific route over the ground," said Keane.

As for Glenn, Peterson, he says he knows the Marines have to fly, but he hopes they'll avoid what he calls "gunning it" over his home.

"I would like them to go back to Miramar, but if they're not going to do that, if they would at least do whatever they do so it's not quite as loud," said Peterson.

Brown Field is open to all military aircraft and is not solely used by the Marine Corps.

There are numerous military aircraft that conduct operational training there. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing says that they are responding to residents’ concerns. For example, they've re-invigorated their program to make sure pilots are following the rules for take offs and landings.

San Diego County Sheriff’s detectives have arrested two men in connection with a series of home burglaries around Poway, officials confirmed.

Stephen Black, 24, and Richard Thomason, 45, were arrested in connection with a string of residential burglaries that happened around north and east Poway between May and July.

According to investigators, at least seven homes were burglarized. Each time, the burglaries occurred during the daytime hours and the suspects stole mostly jewelry and small electronics. Many of the homes hit in the series were close to one another.

In most cases, the suspects would enter the homes through unlocked doors and windows.

Detectives say that the cases involving Black and Thomason have been turned over to the District Attorney’s office for prosecution.

Officials want to remind the public to lock doors and windows to avoid falling prey to home burglaries.

A two-year-old murder mystery involving a South Florida man accused of raping and killing his adoptive mother is headed to trial on Monday.

Gerard Lopes faces murder charges in connection to the death of 43-year-old Natalie Belmonte, whose bludgeoned body was found in a marsh near their Pembroke Pines home in July 2011.

The state claims that Lopes, who has pleaded not guilty, sexually assaulted his adoptive mother before killing her. In a hearing held Wednesday, state prosecutors sought approval to introduce DNA evidence they say shows the motive was sexual assault.

An autopsy showed that semen found in Belmonte matched Lopes’ DNA, but Lopes’ attorneys argue it's not relevant because the sexual relationship was consensual.

The state called a DNA expert, Dr. Martin Tracey, to the stand in Wednesday's hearing. Tracey testified the level of integrity of the DNA found shows the semen was deposited at the time of the murder.

"We know from other kinds of studies that I'm familiar with and teach at the university, the survival time for semen is about 3 to 5 days,” Tracey said.

Police said security video from a neighbor’s house shows Belmonte and Lopes, who was 21 at the time of his 2011 arrest, leaving in the same car and stopping at a Walgreens before heading to a party. The car returns with both individuals around 2:48 a.m. A short time later Lopes is seen dragging a bag across the driveway and loading bags into the trunk. Belmonte's body would be found three days later near their Pembroke Pines home.

Lopes has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge.

During Wednesday's motion in limiting hearing, prosecutors called Belmonte's sister Michaela Teixeira to the stand and asked point blank about the possibility of a consensual sexual relationship.

"There's absolutely no way she had consensual sexual relationship with her son,” she said.

• Timeline of Events in Belmonte's Disappearance

To give the statement punch, prosecutors detailed a normal, loving mother-son relationship showing Teixeira letters between the two, birthday and Mother's Day cards. Teixeira read from a card – one that if Lopes is proven guilty – could serve as an eerie message from the grave.

"Gerry I'm very proud of the man that you are becoming. Always remember the choices you make today determine the outcome of your future,” she said, reading from the card.

• Funeral Held for Slain Pines Woman

At the hearing Broward Circuit Judge Matthew Destry ordered two prerequisites. If the state can establish a sexual relationship has serious negative consequences on Lopes, and secondly that the semen was deposited at or near the time of death, he'll admit the evidence. He also warned that if the state presents the argument into opening statements, but fails to prove relevance, he'll grant a mistrial.

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San Diego Gas & Electric is warning customers of an ongoing wire fraud scam targeting SDG&E business and residential customers across the county.

According to SDG&E, the scam involves scammers posing as SDG&E utility employees. They call customers and threaten to turn off electric and gas service is an immediate payment is not made.

Customers are told to buy a pre-paid credit card. They are then directed to another phone number where they give an unknown scammer information about the card, and the cash value is removed.

For their part, SDG&E says they never proactively contact customers and ask for credit card information over the phone.

The company says customers should not provide any financial information by phone unless they personally initiate the conversation with an SDG&E representative.

If customers receive a phone call that seems suspicious regarding an alleged outstanding balance, they should hang up and call SDG&E directly at (800) 411-7343.