WARNING: Criminals posing as municipal officials
Don't ever pay money to municipal officials except when payments are made at the EMM rates offices.
RESIDENTS are urged to never pay any amount to any person posing as a municipal official, unless this payment takes place over the counter, inside the City’s rates halls.
EMM has been made aware of customers receiving hand-delivered letters and being approached by fraudsters who claim that the customer’s meter was found to have been tampered with and that an immediate spot fine must be paid to avoid disconnection of power.
Customers are also lured to install what is purported to be a prepayment meter, where the customer is scammed to believe that they will pay substantially less per kilowatt-hour if they switch to prepayment meter. Once the customer accepts this ‘upgrade’, the monthly fees are not paid to the City, but to the scammer.
If an unlawfully installed prepaid meter in discovered by the City’s Meter Auditors, the illegitimate prepaid meter will be confiscated and electricity supply will also be disconnected until a legitimate meter is installed by Ekurhuleni officials. This will be followed by a backdated billing as the city would not have been receiving payments from the customer.
To avoid becoming a victim of crime, residents are advised to follow the following golden rules:
• Do not make direct payments or pay spot fines to an individual claiming to be a municipal official. All payments must be made over the counter inside any rates hall across the City.
• Upon receiving a letter addressed from the City, residents should make a follow-up call through the call centre or the 999 number provided in the letter before making any payments.
• Always request a legitimate receipt that can be kept as proof of payment.
Any illegal activities or suspicious behaviour should be reported through the municipal Call Centre on 086 054 3000.
*Issued by Themba Gadebe. EMM spokesperson
Also Read:
Be warned – hijackers on the prowl
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