ST. LOUIS, Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A rash of scams are
using the Ameren name to dupe consumers nationwide into paying
bogus energy bills. Scammers are sending spoofed emails that appear
to be requests from Ameren asking recipients to pay unpaid utility
bills. Recipients also are being instructed to open a
virus-infected attachment. Ameren has received calls from residents
of several states, including Missouri and Illinois, who have been targeted in the scam.
Other utilities throughout the country have reported experiencing a
similar email scam.
"Ameren is investigating the situation and working to resolve
the issue," says Tim Reagan,
director of Security at Ameren. "If anyone receives this type of
email, they should not open any attachments, and should delete the
email message immediately." Reagan added that unless specific
information has been requested by a customer, Ameren does not
include attachments in its customer emails.
Ameren reminds customers to never give personal or financial
information to anyone who calls, sends an email or comes to their
homes unannounced. Customers with concerns about their accounts
should call Ameren Missouri at 800.552.7583 or Ameren Illinois at
800.755.5000.
For more information, visit Ameren.com.
St. Louis-based Ameren
Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.4 million electric
customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a
64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren
Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois
provides electric and natural gas delivery service while Ameren
Missouri provides vertically integrated electric service, with
generating capacity of 10,300 megawatts, and natural gas delivery
service. Ameren Transmission of Illinois develops regional electric
transmission projects. Follow us on Twitter @AmerenCorp. For more
information, visit Ameren.com.
SOURCE Ameren Corporation