Metro East business owner outsmarts a scammer pretending to be Ameren

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O'FALLON, Ill. (KMOX) — Laura Land, owner of The Coffeehouse Company in O'Fallon, Ill. told scammers who were trying to cheat her out of hundreds of dollars, "This is impossible, I have paid the bill."  

Land says one of the tenants in her building, a hair stylist, got a call on her cell phone last Wednesday claiming the business's power was going to be shut off immediately if she didn't pay up.  Land got on the call and says she told the person, "You're not cutting any line because I paid the bill."    

Land admits to being nervous and says she wasn't thinking clearly because she was in the middle of baking for an upcoming farmer's market and her tenant was panicked. It wasn't until the scammer asked for a confirmation number from her bank that she realized it was a scam.

She called the real Ameren Illinois and was assured her bills were paid up. The utility did ask her to post her experience on social media in order to warn others. "I posted it because I am worried that others especially senior citizens might succumb to the pressure and the threats I was getting. I hope others will see it and not become a victim." 

Land says she has 15 people who work for her and she would never do anything that would negatively impact them.

Ameren has advice and a warning to customers to avoid being scammed.

“Scammers claim they will disconnect service within the hour if a payment isn’t made," said Shirley Stennis, director of customer service for Ameren Illinois. "This is not a practice or policy of Ameren Illinois. In fact, we give our customers the opportunity to make payment arrangements and would never demand payment in this manner.”

Ameren Illinois says small businesses are frequent targets because they yield higher dollar amounts than individual residential accounts and business owners fear having their power shut off during busy times of the day. In the last five years, Ameren Illinois says, more than 3,100 of its customers have reported being scammed or the victims of an attempted scam costing $75,000.

Ameren Illinois Chairman and President Richard J. Mark. "Scam artists have become increasingly sophisticated with their tactics. They can be very convincing." 

He describes the things Ameren Illinois will never do and how to determine a caller is trying to scam you.  
  • Threat to disconnect. Scammers may aggressively tell the customer the utility bill is past due and service will be disconnected if a payment is not made – usually within less than an hour. Ameren Illinois sends disconnect notices through the mail and always attempts to work with the customer on a solution before shutting off power.
  • Requests for personal information, such as social security numbers and bank accounts, as well as particulars about your Ameren Illinois bill. You should only share personal information in conversations you initiate.
  • Requests to pay with a prepaid card. Scammers instruct the customer to make payment with a prepaid card, which are widely available at retail stores. When the customer calls back, the scammer asks the customer for the prepaid card’s number, which grants the scammer instant access to the card’s funds, and the victim’s money is gone.
  • Suspicious phone numbers. Scammers often call or ask to be called back at a number with a local area code, but not a number that belongs to Ameren Illinois.

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