QUAD CITIES - MidAmerican Energy said in a press release on February 27 that scammers are once again targeting their customers.
The release said that imposters are calling home and business owners and demanding immediate payment on behalf of MidAmerican Energy.
The callers threaten to shut off power unless the customer makes an immediate payment over the phone with a prepaid debit card.
A news tip sent to WQAD said she was called and that the recording on a phone call sounded "Just like MidAmerican and was very believable except that they were asking for cash."
MidAmerican said that scammers are persistent and aggressive. They can spoof caller-ID to make a call appear as if it is coming from the utility or any number. The scammers often require customers to make immediate payments using a prepaid card (such as a Green Dot card) and they threaten to disconnect service if the customer does not pay immediate of the phone.
Customers who are suspicious should hang up right away and call police. MidAmerican said they do not ever call customers demanding immediate payment by phone.
After calling police, report the incident to MidAmerican by calling 888-427-5632. They caution customers to not call the number that appears on the caller-ID display.
Mid American offers these tips for protecting yourself against scammers:
To check your billing status, call MidAmerican. Or, access your billing records online through My Account on the company’s website at www.midamericanenergy.com.