WEST CHESTER, Ohio — A West Chester enterprise not too long ago fell sufferer to a rip-off, leaving them struggling financially throughout an already sluggish season.
Ghiovanna Dennis and her daughter co-own the Coterie Lounge & Cafe in West Chester.
“I’m not a espresso connoisseur of any type, however I take advantage of it to carry folks collectively,” mentioned Dennis.
They first opened their doorways in Could of final yr, and like every small enterprise, the primary yr has had its ups and downs.
Sadly, Dennis was not too long ago the sufferer of a rip-off, inflicting her to lose almost $1,000, when somebody known as her pretending to be Duke Power.
“They known as me, we had been busy and he, the person, mentioned that if I didn’t pay what I owed or an enormous portion of it, that they had been gonna shut off my electrical energy,” mentioned Dennis.
WATCH: Small enterprise proprietor Ghiovanna Dennis share how she was scammed
This enterprise proprietor thought she paid Duke Power. In actuality, scammers took her cash
Dennis mentioned she panicked as a result of it appeared actual. She did have a steadiness to pay, the scammers transferred her to a number of folks, and so they weren’t being overly good.
The scammers informed her she wanted to pay instantly, both at their downtown cost station or a neighborhood cost heart. They directed her to a cost heart at her native Walgreens to make the cash switch.
“They gave me the account quantity I wanted to pay for which I feel was one quantity off my account quantity, trying again on it,” mentioned Dennis. “And I went, and I took money out, and I paid them.”
She says she didn’t suppose twice about it. They knew her identify, account data, and her enterprise.
However final week, she found it was a rip-off.
“The actual Duke shut my electrical energy off, and I had patrons in right here — it was humiliating. And I known as them, nearly to completely go off on them,” mentioned Dennis. “And so they very politely informed me that I had been scammed.”
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The cash Dennis needed to pay the actual Duke, plus what she paid the scammers cleared her out, so she went to social media asking the neighborhood for assist.
“My household and I’ve labored so exhausting, my daughter and I particularly, to change into what we’re and I didn’t simply need that to go down the chute,” mentioned Dennis.
And he or she’s discovered her lesson and has recommendation for others to allow them to keep away from being in her footwear.
“When anyone calls, dangle up and name the precise enterprise again,” mentioned Dennis. “I’ll ceaselessly do this, this may by no means occur to me once more.”
She says one of the best ways to assist them is to go to Coterie Lounge & Cafe and purchase a drink or snack. For extra methods to assist, you’ll be able to go to their web site right here.
We reached out to Duke Power and requested in the event that they had been conscious of those scams and if that they had any suggestions for purchasers to keep away from scams. They responded with a hyperlink to their net web page sharing the most typical scams, what to do should you suspect a rip-off and different recommendation. To see that data, click on right here.
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