ST. PETERS, Mo. – Ever since the beginning of the year con artists have ramped up their crimes while preying on people who are trying to stay warm.
Homeowners aren't the only targets of this scam. Having no electricity would be disastrous for any business or home considering how cold it is outside. But, businesses throughout the St. Louis Metro area said a scammer has been calling them and threatening to shut off their power.
Nancy Koch is one of the owners of Nightshift Bar & Grill and was recently threatened to have the electricity shut off by someone claiming to be from Ameren.
“They said that they were from Ameren UE and that I needed to pay my bill that it was past due,” Koch said.
But when the caller couldn't provide key information about her business account she figured it was a scam.
“I had just literally made that payment that week. I was kind of freaking out, I'm like oh my God you know, did they lose it why are they calling me,” Koch said.
Instead of paying a faulty bill, Koch decided to go a step further by contacting the police.
But her business wasn't the only one targeted. Officials from Ameren said they normally get around 12 to 25 reports a week concerning scammers. However, within the last two weeks Ameren received almost 100 calls about scammers targeting local businesses.
“It bothers me a lot because there is a lot of small businesses that you know mom and pop shops or whatever that don’t really know better,” Koch said.
Ameren officials said the scammers are getting clever using 1-800 numbers that are similar to the actual Ameren phone number, which makes it harder for businesses to decipher.
Officials also gave some tips to point out red flags, if someone demands an immediate payment, or claims they will immediately shut off your power, they are scammers.
Koch who was targeted is warning other businesses not to fall prey.
“You know most businesses are just like the IRS, they don’t call you. Consider looking into it if you receive one of these calls, don’t just assume that these people are who they say they are,” Koch said.
