KUALA LUMPUR: Scammers are now offering bogus electricity bill discounts, police say.
Seven such cases involving losses totalling RM279,289 have been recorded since March, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf told a press conference on Friday (Sept 6).
"Investigations showed that the syndicates would offer discounts of between 20% and 30% on Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) bills via Facebook.
"Interested parties will then be told to contact a certain number and to send a photo of their bill.
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"The scammers will then send back a receipt to show proof of payment before instructing the victims to transfer the payment minus the 'discounted amount' to a given bank account.
"However, after making payment, the victims found that their bills were still unpaid," he said.
He urged the public to be cautious of discounts offered online, especially only through a single platform.
It was reported earlier that a 62-year-old accountant in Taiping fell victim to a scam involving a fake TNB bill payment package, resulting in a loss of RM164,903.
Taiping OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Nasir Ismail said the victim lodged a report on Monday (Sept 2), saying he had been deceived by an individual offering a 35% discount on TNB bills.
The victim was contacted by the scammer on July 8 and promised a 35% discount for finding customers willing to pay their electricity bills through him, ACP Nasir said.
"From July 8 to Aug 27, the victim collected approximately RM207,000 from his customers and after deducting the promised 35% discount, the victim made 11 bank transfers totalling RM164,903 to five different accounts provided by the suspect," he said.
The fraud was uncovered when one customer received a message from TNB stating that their electricity bill was still outstanding.
