Hackers have created a new scheme to defraud people, and this time it includes your electricity bill. In most cities, the electricity board will send a message to subscribers reminding them to pay their electricity bills on time. People have recently reported receiving WhatsApp messages advising them to pay their electricity bill or their electricity connection will be disconnected. Even a tech-savvy person could be persuaded by the message to pay right away without hesitation.
According to Twitter users, customers are typically notified to pay their electricity bill via SMS or WhatsApp. The message contains a phone number owned by a scammer. The con artist persuades the user, who is frantically dialling the number, that they must pay for the electricity or risk having it turned off. Con artists have perpetrated the majority of electricity scams in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Odisha, among other cities.
The message says, ‘Dear Consumer Your Electricity power will be disconnected. Tonight at 9.30 p.m., from the electricity office. because your previous month’s bill was not updated Please contact our electricity officer right away at 8260303942. Thank you’. It is sent from a random phone number that does not belong to any of the electricity boards. As you can see, the message was not sent by an authorized source. When you receive a message from, say, BSES Delhi, the phone number is replaced by ‘BSES DL’.
Another red flag is the message’s use of language. The sentences are written incorrectly. Throughout, the writing is extremely disjointed. The message clearly does not follow the correct syntax. There are incorrect full stops and a total lack of comprehension of capital letters and small-cap characters. The Maharashtra Cyber Cell has warned people to be wary of such emails, which are clearly designed to deceive innocent people. Because the message is concerning, most people who have forgotten to pay their electricity bill are likely to believe it.
Post Your Comments