WhatsApp Electricity Bill scam alert! Fraudsters asking you to clear your bill? READ the message again

New Delhi: No, we don't want you to avoid paying your electricity bills, but if you do, be careful. A new scheme by hackers to trick people has been developed, and this time it involves your electricity bill. In most cities, the electricity board will send out a message to users reminding them to pay their electricity bills on time. People have, however, recently reported receiving WhatsApp messages reminding them to pay their electricity bill or their electricity connection will be suspended. Even a tech-savvy person could be persuaded by the message to pay right away without giving it a second thought.

According to Twitter users, the message informing users to pay their electricity bill is typically sent via SMS or WhatsApp. A scammer-owned phone number can be found in the message. The con artist convinces the user, who is frantically dialling the number, that they must pay for the electricity or risk having their electricity cut off. Most cases of electricity scams have been reported by con artists in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Odisha, among other cities.

The message says, “Dear Consumer Your Electricity power will be disconnected. Tonight at 9.30 pm from electricity office. because your previous month bill was not update. Please immediately contact with our electricity officer 8260303942 Thank you.” It is sent from an arbitrary phone number that is unrelated to the electricity boards and is sent from that source. If you've noticed by now, the message was not sent by a legitimate source. The phone number is changed to "BSES DL" when you receive a message from, let's say, BSES Delhi.

The message's use of language should raise yet another warning sign. The sentences are incorrectly constructed. The writing is extremely haphazard throughout. It is obvious that the message does not adhere to proper syntax. There are erroneous full stops and a complete lack of understanding of capital letters and small-cap letters.

People have been warned to be wary of such messages that are sent with the obvious intention of deceiving innocent people by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell. Most people who have actually forgotten to pay their electricity bill are most likely to fall for the message because it is alarming. You typically become agitated and act without giving it much thought when you unexpectedly see a message warning that your electricity connection will be cut. And scammers are constantly searching for such impressionable users who can be easily duped.

Always double-check the message and the sources. The message's language must be carefully considered because it says a lot about its sincerity.