SUHAIL KHAN
SRINAGAR, July 27: The people of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir must remain vigilant about a new scam involving fake electricity bill messages. Fraudsters are sending fake text messages and WhatsApp messages to consumers, claiming their electricity will be disconnected due to unpaid bills.
The messages often appear to be from the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) or the J&K Power Development Department, complete with official logos. However, these are complete fabrications used to dupe unsuspecting electricity consumers.
Managing Director of the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), Mussarat Islam taking to Kashmir Despatch has urged customers to ignore any text messages or WhatsApp messages claiming to be from the Ministry of Power, KPDCL, or J&K PDD. He clarified that disconnection of electricity supply is handled by DISCOMs, and they do not send such messages. This means that any message about disconnection is a scam, and people should not believe or respond to it.
To combat such scams, Kashmir DISCOM has been transitioning smart-metered consumers to prepaid mode. Over 1.22 lakh consumers have already switched to this system, and the transition to prepaid mode is final, with no option to revert to postpaid he added.
He further added that consumers are advised to be vigilant and ignore any suspicious messages regarding their electricity bills or supply. They should directly contact their local power distribution office for any queries or concerns related to their electricity accounts.
Meanwhile, The cyber police in J&K have also cautioned residents about this scam. They advise consumers who receive such fraudulent messages to not respond, and instead report the incident to the Cyber Crime wing of the J&K Police.
This scam is part of a broader trend known as ‘smishing’, where scammers use text messages to trick people into sharing personal information or making payments. Fraudsters may also try to dupe individuals under the guise of updating their KYC (Know Your Customer) details online a cyber police officer told Kashmir Despatch.
Suhail Khan is a filmmaker, content writer, and freelance journalist.
