INDIANAPOLIS -- The holidays are here and that means scammers are out in force trying to steal your extra Christmas money, but it isn’t just people they’re targeting, businesses can be victims too.
Subway owner Susan Plec says she was panicked when her employee told her IPL had called and said they were late paying their pill and someone was coming to turn off their power.
“He said, ‘let me explain it to you. If she does not call and pay within 45 minutes, there will be somebody there to turn the lights off,” employee Mary Graham recalled.
So Pelc picked up the phone and called the number back, later realizing that her bill wasn’t even due until the next week.
“I thought maybe I forgot to pay the bill,” Pelc said. “So, I ran home and on my way home, I realized that my bill wasn’t due until the third of the month.”
After the realization hit her, she knew she was being scammed.
“Just makes me angry, especially this time of year,” Pelc said. “People are out there doing this kind of thing. I just want people to be aware that this is going on and be careful.”
Tim Maniscalo with the Better Business Bureau says the utility scam is common throughout the country and can target homes or businesses.
“What these guys will do is they will work an area for a while, they’ll get found out and move to someplace else,” Maniscalo said. “So it seems as though they are working central Indiana right now.”
Maniscalo says there are several things it’s important to remember, including how your utility companies work and how they handle shut-off notices.
“They’re not going to immediately turn off your power without you knowing that’s going to happen or without giving you plenty of time and plenty of warning to pay your bill. So this is not how these utility companies work,” Maniscalo said.
The BBB says the top five scams they see during the holidays are:
- Fake charity sites
- Fake online shopping sites
- Electronic holiday cards with viruses that spam your email
- The Salvation Army scam where people dress up as Santa Claus and take your money
- Best-selling Christmas item scam. Claiming to have the #1 item for Christmas this year when they don’t have the item
To find out which scams are targeting your area you can go to scamtracker.org.
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