Households are facing a “huge” jump in energy-related scams as fraudsters exploit fear and confusion around soaring bills, figures show.
Scams mentioning one of the “big six” energy firms in the first quarter of this year were up 10% on the same period last year, figures from Action Fraud and reported by Which? show. January alone saw a 27% year-on-year increase.
Which? said it believed the true figure was likely to be even higher, as many scam attempts went unreported. A common scam involves phishing emails in which a fraudster posing as an energy supplier invites the customer to claim a refund due to a miscalculation on their energy bill, but requires the recipient to reveal their bank details.
The collapse of several small energy firms has also created an atmosphere of confusion around outstanding bills, with scammers utilising uncertainty to pose as debt collection firms, the consumer group warned. Former customers of Brilliant Energy have reported receiving sophisticated phishing emails, including their names and knowledge of their former supplier, more than two years after the company had been wound up.
Customers of defunct firms including Solarplicity, Future Energy and Northumbria Energy have been similarly affected. Fraudsters are also taking advantage of various government grants set up to boost take-up of insulation, heat pumps and other products by impersonating legitimate schemes online, via cold calling and even on the doorstep.
Research from Citizens…
