Cape Town officials warns residents of fake electricity prepaid scam

The City of Cape Town’s Energy Directorate said that it was aware of a prepaid electricity scam doing the rounds online.

Officials warned residents to be vigilant if approached with such an offer.

“Residents are only to buy prepaid electricity from an approved list of vendors”, a statement by the City of Cape Town said.

“The City is aware that the scammer is claiming to be able to provide residents with electricity prepaid tokens at a substantially discounted rate. It should be noted that any units bought via this scam will not be accepted by City prepaid electricity meters and effectively, customers will lose the money paid. Residents are encouraged to only purchase units from reputable vendors and are reminded that they may find vendors by making use of the City’s new load-shedding app or by visiting the City’s website.”

“Residents must please be cautious if they are approached online with an offer such as this. If residents should choose to purchase from the scammer, it will be money wasted and lost as the City cannot refund residents in these situations. Importantly, residents are reminded that if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

“Households which are struggling financially are reminded that they can reduce their household electricity bills by using less. To a large extent, the power is truly in their hands to reduce costs. There are several ways that households can reduce their electricity usage and, by doing so, reduce the amount of money spent. The City also has help available for registered indigent people and pensioners, as well as those who have been severely affected by Covid-19. Residents should please contact the City to see if they qualify for assistance,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen.

Residents are encouraged to report any suspicious behaviour to the City’s law enforcement agencies or the City’s Fraud Hotline on 0800 323 130 or to the South African Police Service (SAPS).

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