Lisbon, Dec. 3, 2024 (Lusa) - In the last two months, Portugal's natural gas and electricity provider, EDP, has seen a significant increase in reports of attempted fraud in which customers are asked to pay a figure allegedly owed to the company, which says it has strengthened its security measures.
"In October and November, EDP Comercial recorded a significant increase in the number of fraud attempts reported by customers, at various stages of the energy bill payment process and invoking the company's name in order to obtain a payment allegedly due to EDP that does not exist," reads a note sent to Lusa.
According to the data released by the electricity company, 2,000 fraud attempts had been reported by mid-November, compared to 1,700 in the same month in 2023.
In October, there were more than 3,000 fraud attempts, up from around 1,800 in the same period last year, i.e. an increase of 65%.
However, EDP claims that these figures are lower than the fraud attempts actually committed, since it can only monitor the cases that are reported to it.
In light of these figures, the company has a new communication campaign in place and has a polygraph available on the EDP Comercial website so that customers can confirm that the data they have received is true.
"Dear customer, your bill is outstanding. Pay by 14/11 to avoid suspension," reads one of the fraudulent messages received by consumers, which indicates an entity, reference and amount to be paid.
EDP Comercial's payment entities are only 20174 and 23013 for residential customers and 12223 and 21196 for business customers.
"To try to minimise the number of customers involved in this scam, EDP Comercial periodically sends security messages to certain groups of customers who may be more vulnerable - for example, if fraud is detected in a certain location, SMSs to that location are stepped up. Whenever EDP Comercial is informed of a case, it advises the customer to file a complaint of fraud with the police and immediately contact their bank," said an official company source.
Consumers can also use EDP's channels, such as shops and contact centres, to find out if they are victims of fraud.
EDP also advises customers to use direct debit, arguing that this is currently the only fraud-proof means of payment.
PE/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
