This alert is republished from Thousands caught out in prepayment electricity scam written by Victoria Bischoff and published 7th September 2010.

We do encourage you to read the full article by following the link above!

Around 85,000 prepayment meter customers have had to fork out for the same electricity twice after being sold illegal electricity credit by doorstep fraudsters as part of a widespread scam.

The criminals knock on doors and offer customers who pay for their electricity in advance £50 of electricity credit for just £25. Once the customer accepts the offer, which most assume to be a special discount, the salesman uses a cloned key or card to top up their meter.

However, energy companies can detect when they have not received the correct payment for the electricity used and will charge customers the full £50 next time they top up their electricity. This means customers end up paying twice, first to the criminal and then to their energy supplier ...  read more >>.

Anyone who knows someone selling illegal electricity top ups is being urged to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit Crimestoppers-uk.org.

Please let us know of any suspicious energy activities by using the Contact us form above. We will follow up and add them to our Scam review listing.