Submitted by the city of St. Charles.
The St. Charles Police Department recently received a report from a business owner who stated somebody purporting to be with the city of St. Charles electric utility contacted him to advise his electric bill was overdue.
The complainant, who just opened his establishment, did not fall for the scam that attempted to bilk $800 out of the business. The business owner stated a male subject, using the name Nathan, told him he was behind $800 on his electric bill. “Nathan” proceeded to ask for a credit card payment over the phone, and even provided a reference number in an attempt to legitimize the scam. A big red flag for the business owner was that his caller ID showed a Richmond, VA area code.
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This was the second such incident reported to the city within the last week from a local business. The city began to see this scam last year, and municipalities across the state and the country have been targeted. Different variations of this scam have threatened electric shut off and demands for payment via Green Dot Money Paks and PayPal.
If the City were to contact a customer it would always be from a 630 area code. Local businesses should know that the City of St. Charles electric utility does not contact customers over the phone to make payments, and does not utilize credit card billing by phone. If there ever is a question as to the status of an account, customers may contact the City’s Utility Billing Department during normal business hours at 630-377-4426.Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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