Over 500 million dollars has been lost annually to scams in Canada since 2022 according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Utility scams are increasingly common, especially as the industry evolves and other forms of energy become more readily available.
Types of Scams
Scams come in many forms but the goal of all scams is similar, they target victims in order to steal money and gather financial/personal information. Some examples of utility scams include:
- Threats of disconnection: where the scammer typically urges immediate payment or disclosure of personal/financial information
- Solar scams: where the scammer typically pressures people to sign expensive contracts in return for the promise of free solar panels, grants, or $0 electricity bills
- Text/Email/Phone: where the scammer pretends to be your utility company in order to receive a payment or personal/financial information, text and emails scams will typically have malicious links
- Fake bill: where the scammer pretends to be your utility company in order to receive a payment or personal/financial information
- Equipment repair: where the scammer falsely identifies faulty equipment and pressures people to repair the equipment immediately in order receive a payment or personal/financial information
- Online ad: where the scammer pretends to be a utility company typically using malicious links or where the scammer pretends to guarantee rebates in order to receive personal/financial information
Spotting Scams
Scams often have red flags and warning signs, including:
- Pressure to act immediately
- Threatening language such as immediate disconnections or involving police
- Asking for payment in unconventional methods
- It seems to good to be true
- Contracts are vague
- Incorrect URLs
- Incomplete websites/websites with grammatical or spelling errors
- Recently created websites
Note: In Alberta utility companies can not sell their services door-to-door but there is no restriction for solar companies.
How to Protect Yourself
Take Your Time
If you are contacted by a utility or solar company, you never need to agree to anything immediately. Reach out and verify details independently. If you are contacted by phone, text, or email, do not reply directly. Many scammers will spoof phone numbers and emails so they appear legitimate, replying to these directly only furthers the scam. Find the contact information for the utility company separately and reach out.
Use Caution When Looking At Websites, Links, and Emails
When scammers imitate legitimate companies, they will often use realistic websites, links, and emails. To see if these are legitimate, there are a few things you can do:
- Check the URL - often times scammers will create similar website addresses, but there will be spelling errors, random punctuation, or have a different domain. Never click on links or attachments from people you don't know. You can hover over embedded links to see the URL before clicking it.
- Check the sender's email address - if you receive an email, look at who has sent the email. Most utility companies will have an email like: name@utilitycompany.ca. Scammers may have similar email addresses, but they will likely use free domains like Hotmail, Gmail, or Outlook. Their email addresses may have spelling errors or unnecessary punctuation/letters.
- Check the content of the communication - scammers will often copy and paste sections from legitimate websites, this may make formatting appear weird. They may also develop their own content, but as these websites and emails are created quickly, there is often spelling and grammatical errors. Emails may use inappropriate language as well, such as calling recipients "dear" or "love".
Don't Give Out Your Personal/Financial Information
If you receive unsolicited communications, never give your personal or financial information.
Scammers can use this information to build profiles for other scams and they can use it to gain access to your accounts.
Don't Pay For Anything Without Checking
Scammers will try to pressure you to act immediately. They often threaten utility disconnection or involving police, which make it seem necessary to solve the issue instantly.
Utility companies will never ask for immediate payment. If you are legitimately overdue on your account or facing utility disconnection, you will receive a bill and/or a disconnection notice with a date to pay by. Utility companies will also never ask for payment in the form of gift cards or bitcoin.
If a "utility company" reaches out and demands immediate payment, take your time to verify with your utility company. Contact your utility company's customer service department indicated on your bill, do not respond directly to the demand. If your utility company offers online billing, you can also verify there.
Beware of Too Good To Be True Promises
If something seems too good to be true, it likely is.
Solar scams in particular often make promises such as free solar panels, large grants to cover costs, or the ability to reduce your utility bill to nothing. These scams may also approve you for solar projects immediately and get you to sign vague contracts with large sign up fees. However, it is important to keep in mind:
- Solar panels are very expensive and will never be free.
- Grants are available, however they are not available to everyone and acceptance is conditional.
- Even with the addition of solar panels, utility consumers will often still have to pay utility bills as transmission and distribution charges will not go away.
- An assessment of your property will need to be done. A legitimate solar company will be able to let you know if solar is an option for your property and they may be able to help you find microgeneration plans in your area. The assessments will be completed before you pay for the solar panels.
What to Do If You're a Victim
It is important to report utility scams to help protect yourself and others.
If you were targeted but not a victim, you can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Consumers can submit reports online or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
If you were a victim of a utility scam, it is still important to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. You should also report the scam to your local police service. You may also want to:
- Contact your financial institution
- If the scam took place through a website, social media, or online classified pages - report them to the website as well to get them removed
- Monitor your accounts through credit bureaus such as Equifax and TransUnion and flag them if necessary