Don’t Fall for Scammers Pretending to be Utilities!

Once students have moved into their new apartment and well-settled, let’s take a look at how to avoid any scammers pretending to be utilities.  Ameren provides power to all residents in Champaign-Urbana, however, the residents have the right to choose which supplier they wish to purchase from.

Please keep in mind that Ameren customers should be aware of telephone, mail, email, door-to-door, and other in-person scams that involve criminals posing as Ameren representatives and demanding immediate payment or personal information.

Scammers may include:

• Requesting immediate payment via credit card or bank account information.
• Impersonating Ameren representative over the phone and in-person, targeting students and non-native English-speaking persons.
• Threatening to disconnect utility service if payment is not received within an hour or two.

If you have been contacted by someone impersonating Ameren, please do the following below:

• Hang up the phone, do not show your utility bill, and call Ameren Illinois at 800.755.5000
• Do NOT give the caller or visitor a prepaid card, a wire transfer, or any other form of payment that may be difficult for law enforcement officials to trace
• Do NOT give your personal information such as bank account numbers, usernames, and passwords, credit card numbers, etc. because Ameren will NEVER request that information via phone or in person.
• Delete and block any emails from utilities that are not your service provider
• If someone comes to your door and claims to be a utility worker, ask to see an employee ID and call us if you want to confirm the purpose of the visit
• Delete all suspicious emails that require immediate action to verify or demand personal information

If you have any questions in regards to Ameren scammers, please reach out to 800.755.5000.