Can you fear me now?!

Verizon bill suit

Verizon knowingly bills its customers for fraudulent charges until they complain, according a new class-action lawsuit.

Brooklyn lawyer and plaintiff Lowell Sidney (inset) told The Post he uncovered the money-grubbing tactic after noticing that his usual $150 monthly Verizon bills had skyrocketed to as much as $230.

Since he had enabled autopay, he didn’t catch the abnormally high charges for about five months. When he finally called Verizon, he was directed to its Fraud Services Department, according to his Brooklyn federal court suit.

“Fraud Services said that on Oct. 22, 2016, an unknown person entered a Best Buy store in Wesley Chapel, Florida, claimed to be [Sidney], and ordered a cellphone and phone service from Verizon,’’ the suit says. “When the store requested basic identifying information, the impostor fled the store.”

But “in spite of having no proof of the identity of the impostor, the payments for this new cellphone and related services, which were ordered by the impostor, were attached to [Sidney’s] bill in New York,” according to court papers.

Sidney’s lawyer, Athas Ioannou, told The Post it was clear to Verizon at the time that the other guy was a crook. Yet “they left whatever he requested on the bill, which is absolutely ab-

surd,” Ioannou said.

“It’s clearly an attempt to retain money that they know is not theirs,” the lawyer added.

Sidney’s suit says that “when [he] inquired about Verizon’s failure to notify him of this deception, Fraud Services stated that it was not Verizon’s corporate policy to notify their customers about potential or detected fraud.’’

Sidney said that during his Feb. 18 conversation with Verizon, “The woman I spoke to was very candid that, ‘That’s our policy.’ ”

He was eventually reimbursed for the fraudulent charges, but he’s still going to find a new provider. “I am not sure if the competition provides comparable service, but to my knowl-knowledge, they don’tdon’t actively en-engage in defraudingauding their own customers,” Sidney said.

He is suinging for at least $75,000 in damagesamages on behalf of himself andnd other Verizon customers who may have had similar experiences.

His lawyeryer said many Verizonzon cus-customers aree likely getting caughtght in the allegedged fraud net be-ecause soo many usee autopay.

A spokesman for Verizon saidd he could not comment on pending litigation.gation.