City power scam

A Northwold resident almost fell victim to a scam orchestrated by a man claiming to work for City Power.

Henry Brown was almost duped when a man phoned him on his cellphone, asked if his electricity was working and checked his address, before an attempted break-in occurred.

“A man calling himself Zachariah phoned at 0.46am,” Brown said. “He said he was from City Power and asked if my lights were on. I said the lights were never off. He then asked if I live in the fifth house in my street. I said I live in the fourth house and that was the end of the conversation.”

At 1.45am Brown’s outside alarm went off. “We heard a noise outside as well, like there were people. I did not go outside. I turned all the lights on in the house and the burglars left.”

According to City Power spokesperson Sydney Mphahlele, this phone call was against City Power protocol and the man claiming to work for City Power was probably lying.

“When City Power needs information from a customer, we phone them during working hours and not at that time of the night,” he said.

“Secondly, we checked the City Power address book and did not find anybody by the name of Zachariah, which suggests that he is neither a City Power technician nor a City Power staff member.”

Mphahlele said when these incidents occurred residents must report them to the police.

Residents can also phone the City Power risk control room at any time of day to verify the credentials of a person claiming to work for City Power, or to report suspicious activity.

Details: City Power risk control room 011 490 7911/7900/7553.