In view of increasing cyber crime cases related to fake disconnection messages sent out by fraudsters in the State, the Haryana Energy Minister Ranjit Singh on Tuesday cautioned electricity consumers against fake messages and links sent out by cyber seamsters. His warning came after several instances of people being conned by cyber frauds came to the fore.

In a statement, Singh said, “No one should fall prey to fraudsters by clicking on fake links. Consumers should be aware of fake messages such as ‘Pay the electricity bill; otherwise, your electricity connection will be disconnected in a few hours etc. I appeal to the general public not to click such links and beware of cyber fraudsters.”

“A special campaign has been launched by the power DISCOMs to make people aware of cyber scamsters as they are adopting new methods every day to cheat people. Many cases have been reported where consumers said they are getting a fake message on their mobile phones claiming that the payment of their electricity bill is due and their connection will get disconnected if they do not pay the asked amount,” the Minister added.

He further clarified, “The power DISCOMs do not send out such messages to the consumers, nor do they threaten consumers to disconnect the power connections. They don’t even ask them to contact any number or click any link.”

“If any electricity consumer has an outstanding bill and receives such a message, then he should be careful and not click on the link sent through unknown sources. The consumer should neither share his bank, card details, OTP etc with anyone. Remain alert yourself and make others aware too,” Singh added.

He also said, “As soon as a bill is generated by a power DISCOM, it is either sent through email or through a message to the registered mobile number. All these messages are sent through authorized DISCOM IDs. Consumers should only use the official website of DISCOMs to check their bills online and make online payments. Even after this, if any electricity consumer has any doubt regarding his electricity bill, they can contact his nearest electricity office or the electricity department through the toll-free number 1800-180-4334.”

“In case of a cyber fraud, a complainant should immediately contact the cyber crime helpline number 1930 and register their complaint on the same,” he added.