This article first appeared on RTL.de.
The energy crisis is a burden for many electricity customers. Fraudsters take advantage of this nationwide and hope for easy prey when arranging expensive electricity contracts on the phone. The Lübeck police are now warning: The scammers only need a little information from their victims to conclude the new expensive contracts.
“Never give out the meter number or meter reading on the phone. Passing on the information could lead to a change of electricity provider and count as a verbal contract,” warns Claudia Struck from the police in Lübeck. Nationwide, the phenomenon of telephone rip-offs, in which dubious companies ask unsuspecting electricity customers to give their meter number and the current meter reading, is increasing. “You have to get rid of the fact that I only sign a contract if I sign it, that can also happen verbally on the phone,” said Struck when asked by RTL.
But what do the scammers get out of selling their victims new electricity contracts? It is assumed that there are dubious companies behind the scam who benefit financially from the acquisition of new electricity customers, explains police spokeswoman Claudia Struck in the RTL interview. “And the more customers, the more sales.” It is also conceivable that these companies use intermediaries who then receive a kind of commission for each contract. When asked by RTL, the police spokeswoman did not want to name the wire-pulling companies because the investigations were still ongoing.
The most recent known case in Lübeck: On Tuesday (October 4th), a caller pretended to be an employee of a regional energy supplier and asked a woman from Lübeck for the current meter reading and meter number. At the same time, he stipulates that the so-called EEG surcharge should be paid out. Luckily, the 50-year-old is becoming suspicious – because she had only recently received a bill for the adjustment from her actual electricity provider. She ends the call and asks her energy supplier, who confirms her suspicions. Then she goes to the police.
How the scammers get their victims’ numbers is not yet clear. In the case of the woman from Lübeck, the entry in the phone book was probably misused. The officials in Lübeck are now investigating on suspicion of fraud.
The police advises to hang up on such calls, not to reveal any data and to follow some important tips:
“If you realize that you have entered into a contract, then you shouldn’t be ashamed to consult the police or contact legal advice,” recommends Claudia Struck.
