ncreasingly vulnerable householders are facing a “significant” increase in energy scams as the cost-of-living crisis takes hold, Trading Standards has warned.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has issued its “starkest warning yet” about a rise in scams such as fraudulent energy rebate text messages, rogue doorstep sellers and loan sharks preying on the vulnerable.
Some texts or emails ask the recipient to click on a link that takes them to an “official” booking platform where they are asked to submit personal information, but which is a ruse to harvest data and often used to scam the person at a later date.
The CTSI said it also expected scammers to target households in the coming weeks regarding the £150 disability cost of living payment.
Sadly, we have noticed an increase in people whose savings have been compromised
Households do not need to apply for the rebate as suppliers are automatically applying it to bills for six months from October.
The CTSI called for an urgent strategy to warn and inform consumers, especially as Citizens Advice figures showed more than 40 million people had been targeted by scammers last year.
It urged householders to ignore any messages and only deal directly with their energy company using their published phone numbers and email addresses.
CTSI lead officer for scams and doorstep crime, Katherine Hart, said: “There has been a huge surge in energy efficiency scams offering rebates and offers to apply for…
