Senior citizen loses Rs 1.2L in electricity bill scam

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, August 31

A 66-year-old man has lodged a complaint with the city police after having lost Rs 1.2 lakh to cyber-fraudsters in electricity bill message scam. In the message, it was written that the victim’s electricity would be disconnected, and he was induced to download a remote access app and the money was siphoned off from his bank account.

Fraudsters Made victim download fake app

• The victim, JR Jassal, said he responded to a message warning him of discontinuation of power supply due to unpaid bill. He was asked to download an app, ‘Quick support’, claiming to be of the power corporation
• Firstly, an amount of Rs 3,230 was deducted from Jassal’s bank account, and thereafter he received message of transactions of Rs 49,000 and Rs 50,000 that he never made

We don’t send messages to consumers: PSPCL

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• The Electricity Department has clarified that it never sends SMS or WhatsApp messages regarding pending bills. A public advisory in this regard has been issued by the PSPCL.
• Power officials have warned the consumers against making calls on the numbers provided by fraudsters as it’s not related to any officer of the electricity wing

In his complaint, JR Jassal, a retired officer, claimed that he received a WhatsApp message on his mobile number in which it was written that his electricity connection will be disconnected tonight at 9.30 pm because his previous month’s bill was not paid. The fraudsters also provided a number – 9682635662 — and it was written that he should immediately call the electricity officer on this number to resolve the matter.

He said considering the message received was from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office, he called on the given number. “The person who received the call, claimed himself to be an electricity officer, and told me that my previous bill was not paid, so my electricity connection will be disconnected by tonight,” he added.

He further said the fraudster on call told him to pay Rs 100 for updating previous entry and further asked him to download an app namely ‘Quick support’ from playstore. “I took him as a genuine officer from Punjab State Electricity Board, and downloaded the app. Firstly, an amount of Rs 3,230 was deducted from my bank account, and thereafter I received two more messages from the bank for the transactions of Rs 49,000 and Rs 50,000, which I never made,” he said.

“I then immediately went to PSPCL office in Maqsudan and reported the matter but I was told that they have nothing to do with such kind of messages. I then went to the bank and apprised the officials concerned regarding unauthorised withdrawals from my account. They then blocked my account and the debit card,” Jassal said, adding that he had filed a complaint with the city police but there has been no headway yet.

Meanwhile, city police officials claimed that the complaint has been forwarded to cyber cell, and they are trying to trace the mobile number through which the message was received.