Don’t pay electricity bill if you get a WhatsApp message reminding you to do so
India Today
As per users on Twitter, the message which reminds users to pay their electricity bill is usually sent over WhatsApp or SMS.
No, we are not encouraging you to skip paying your electricity bills, but be careful when you do so. Hackers have come up with a new tactic to dupe people and this time it involves your electricity bill. Usually, the electricity board in different cities sends a message reminding users to pay their electricity bill on time. However, of late, people have reported getting messages on WhatsApp reminding them to pay the electricity bill, failing which their electricity connection will be suspended. The message is alarming enough to influence even a tech-savvy person to not give a second thought and make a payment immediately.
As per users on Twitter, the message which reminds users to pay their electricity bill is usually sent over WhatsApp or SMS. The message contains a phone number that belongs to the scammer. When the user frantically dials the number, he is influenced by the scammer to pay for the electricity lest they will lose their electricity connection.Scammers from cities including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Odisha have reported maximum cases of electricity scams.
The message says, “Dear Consumer Your Electricity power will be disconnected. Tonight at 9.30 pm from electricity office. because your previous month bill was not update. Please immediately contact with our electricity officer 8260303942 Thank you.” It is sent from a random phone number which does not belong to any of the electricity boards. Now if you notice clearly the message is not sent by an authorized source. When you get a message from say the BSES Delhi, the phone number is replaced by “BSES DL”.
Another red flag worth noting in the message is the language is the language. The sentences are not formed correctly. Everything has been written in a very haphazard manner. The message clearly does not follow a proper syntax. There are full stops at the wrong places and there is absolutely no sense of capital letters and letters in small caps.The Maharashtra Cyber Cell has alerted people to be wary of such messages that are sent with a clear intention of duping innocent people. The message is alarming, so most people who have genuinely forgotten to pay their electricity bill are most likely to fall for it. When you suddenly see a message claiming that your electricity connection will be cut, you tend to get jittery and take action without putting much thought into it. And the scammers are always on a lookout for such vulnerable users, who will easily fall for the plot.
It is always important to check the message and sources. One must pay attention to the language of the message as that reveals a lot about its authenticity.
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