The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has cautioned the public against fraudsters, who request customers to pay money into purported money accounts of the company, to access services such as meter replacement, meter installationand debt cancellation.
This caution is against the backdrop of complaints to the ECG that customers received strange phone calls asking recipients to deposit money into ECG bank account or mobile money account.
The General Manager of ECG, in the Volta Region, Ms Christina Jatoe- Kaleo, said company does not have any MoMo or mobile money accounts, and warned customers not pay attention to fraudsters or any individuals, who may asks them to send money to ECG mobile money account, to access services.
She disclosed that the impostors used social media or called customers to make payments to certain bank accounts or mobile money numbers to enable them obtain services or have their meters replaced.
“They reach out to customers via social media or phone calls and ask customers to make payment to certain numbers or bank accounts for their meters to be installed or replaced. In some instances, they claim installation is fee. They end up impersonating ECG officials like the District Manager, Accountant or Technical Officer,” she explained to the Ghanaian Times in a telephone interview on Monday.
Ms Jatoe-Kaleo indicated that “with the introduction of the ECG cashless and paperless systems, customers are to initiate transactions or access our services through the ECG PowerApp or shortcode *226#.”
These systems according to the General Manager allowed customers to access ECG services and controlled their payments without any MoMo charge or E-levy, and advised customers not to fall prey to fraudsters.
Ms Jatoe-Kaleo bemoaned the rate at which illegal activities by these fraudsters were gaining momentum, and assured the general public that the company was liaising with the security agencies to track and bring offenders to book.
She appealed to customers to avoid dealing with middlemen when in need of ECG services, and also “be on the lookout for these illegal activities by the fraudsters and report such incidents to the nearest police station or ECG office.”
Ms Jatoe-Kaleo also appealed to the general public to help protect ECG poles against bush fires, transformers from being vandalised and the stealing of valuable components, since these activities could result in prolong outage and affect both ECG and its customers.
BY TIMES REPORTER
