Restaurant reports ‘KCP&L’ scam attempt

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Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White said Tuesday that telephone scammers posing as billing representatives for Kansas City Power & Light Co. apparently tried to defraud a local restaurant.

White said the manager of the Pizza Ranch restaurant in Maryville received a fraudulent call last week during which a live caller claimed the restaurant had not paid its bill and would soon have its electricity shut off.

White said the manager hung up and reported the incident to the eatery’s owners.

KCP&L issued a release Friday warning customers about a series of similar fake calls involving supposedly delinquent utility bills and requests for personal information.

Most of the intended victims have been restaurants and small businesses, the release stated.

KCP&L officials said some utility customers have been getting bogus calls during which a recorded voice prompts them to input payment information.

In other instances, the caller or the recorded message requests that the customer purchase a MoneyGram.

The utility is urging customers who receive such calls to refrain from providing any personal or banking information, to hang up, and to call the KCP&L Customer Contact Center at 888-471-5275 or 816-471-5275.

White said the Pizza Ranch incident is the only local occurrence of the scam that has surfaced so far.