SUDBURY – Scammers have been posing as Greater Sudbury Utilities and targeting local businesses.

It involves callers pumping business owners for credit card information, threatening disconnection, and demanding cash to be dropped off in strange locations.

"What happens is they get a phone call that says we are going to be cutting off your power in whatever short time frame unless you pay us x dollars. They are very sophisticated, they will probe and try to get people to give them information about whatever the size of their last payment was," said Wendy Watson, Greater Sudbury Utilities.

The caller also goes one step further, giving a toll free number to confirm the arrangements or ask any questions.

"Instead of saying go to your bank, go to your citizen service centre or come to our office to pay all normal paths that people would pay their bill, they'll say meet us in a parking lot at this convenience store. They will ask people to use prepaid visa cards and other alternative methods of payment," said Watson.

Anthony Toppazzini runs the 'Beef N Bird' bar and received a call with someone saying his Greater Sudbury Utilities account was 'in arrears'.

"I think they said 2-3 months, and I had to call this phone number immediately or there is a technician on their way to disconnect our power within an hour," said Topazzini.

He was asked to pay with a credit card, but didn't, because he knew it was a scam.

"What alerted me was first of all, I know for a fact, my sister does work at Sudbury Hydro. I know that we are not in arrears and I know this is going on. It's just very odd to call a 1-866 number and give out credit card information," he explained.

Toppazzini says he's sharing his story so people are aware.

"If they are doing this to me, they could be doing this to our growing elderly population in Sudbury, because they might be afraid and they might just give out that information… which I think is terrible," he expressed.

Greater Sudbury Utilities says when accounts are overdue, it communicates in writing and notices are sent. It never asks anyone to pay with prepaid cards, or with a bag of money in a parking lot.