The City of Cape Town is urging its residents to be vigilant as two new electricity scams appear to be doing the rounds, involving some scammers trying to sell cheap, fraudulent units and others posing as electricity officials in order to gain access to homes.
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The City said it had received information about residents being offered electricity units at an appealingly low price. These units, however, do not work on the City’s meters and so anyone that buys these fraudulent units will lose out, two-fold.
‘Everyone loves a deal, especially in these tough economic times, but remember if the price of electricity units seems too good to be true, it very likely is a scam,’ said the City’s mayoral committee member for energy, councillor Beverley van Reenen.
The second scam making its rounds involves scammers claiming to be from the City, requesting to enter residents’ homes under the premise that they need to scan the prepaid meter in order to give rebates on their electricity.
Van Reenen said in most reported cases, it was the elderly who were targeted by these scammers.
‘Once given access to residents’ homes, the scammers steal small personal items like jewellery and cash.’
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In light of these scams, residents are reminded that the City’s Electricity Generation and Distribution Department will make an appointment prior to visiting residents’ homes.
Additionally, municipal workers and contractors must carry a work order number specific to that dwelling, as well as a legitimate City-issued identification card.
‘Residents should please ask to check the work order number and the identification card before allowing anyone onto their property and to verify whether the card is legitimate,’ added van Reenen.
All city-issued identification cards display the following components:
- City logo
- Name and surname of the staff member or mandated contractor
- Embedded photo of the staff member or mandated contractor
If unsure, residents are urged to call the City’s Call Centre on 0860 103 089
Any suspicious behaviour must be reported to the City’s law enforcement agencies or the City’s Fraud Hotline on 0800 1100 77 or to the South African Police Service (SAPS). The SAPS remains the lead authority in crime prevention.
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Picture: Fani Mahuntsi / Gallo Images