How would anyone choose February, the month of love, to inflict panic and fear if anything at all?  Unfortunately, that is the world one has come to know.

It was exactly 1.58 pm on Wednesday when my phone rang. The caller was unfamiliar.  However, curiosity and the least suspected negative speculation in a month of love pushed me to answer the call.

The unfamiliar caller mentioned my name and went on to prefix it with “Auntie”, a title that in our environment is becoming a symbol of respect, especially when the person using it is not a relation. He went straight on to introduce himself as Engineer Somebody from the Dansoman Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). He was calling regarding the replacement of my electricity meter. 

I was curious because I have an outstanding business with ECG. I therefore went ahead and engaged him for a good eight minutes and 23 seconds, because I have been waiting on ECG for my meter replacement for nearly two years now. 

Scammer

The guy, however, pushed his prowess a bit far, and that gave him away as a scammer. He was in a rush to talk about money, thinking he had hit the jackpot that afternoon, perhaps forgetting that with the meter change, customers were informed that the company was doing the replacements for free.

When challenged on the payment aspect, he quickly changed his narrative. This time, he admitted his error and said the only payment I needed to make was to buy new units, which they would transfer to the new meter they would install, since it might take a week for ECG to credit me with whatever units the old meter had.

To speed up the process, this man asked me to send GH¢200 via mobile money (Momo) so they could buy credit for me and bring it along with my receipt. He gave me a phone number to transfer the money to. 

It was at that point that he betrayed himself a second time when I asked what name was on the phone account he is requiring me to pay the Momo transfer in. Surprisingly, it was not an ECG account but rather in an individual’s name, which he said was his son’s.

My suspicion was even more heightened. Why would anyone ask a customer to pay for an official ECG service through a son’s Momo account? The urgency he put on the Momo transfer betrayed him as a suspect for fraud.

I quickly did some homework, conferring with like-minded people for advice, as well as a couple of people I knew at the Dansoman ECG office, to confirm whether any of their engineers went by the name given. 

I did not get back to the guy who, by this time, was proving to be a scammer.

At 5.25 pm, he called me again, saying that since they had not heard from me and no payment had been made into the Momo account, the office was closing for the day, and they would call me the following day to schedule a time for installation once payment was made. I told him I had made some checks and was not going to make any transfer.  The case was laid to rest from my side.

I am using this medium to send a wakeup call to ECG and to let them know that there are scammers in their midst, and they should watch out if they are continuing with the suspension of meter changes from two years ago.

The reality today is that as technology advances, more scams and other dubious IT-related transactions proliferate.  Whether it is in banks or with mobile money transactions, customers are continually receiving raw deals from criminals who spend 24 hours a day following customers' online transactions and digging holes to find out how they could siphon money from them.

Warnings

Of late, there have been a number of adverts and text message warnings from banks and mobile money operators educating customers and the general public on how to detect or avoid scams. Such increased education and awareness, no doubt, have reduced criminal activity in money transfers and internet banking.

The call I received from a so-called ECG Engineer suggests that suspects are finding loopholes in the business of electricity meters to make money. ECG should quickly nip this customer cheating in the bud with the attention it needs. 

I am sure I am not the first, and I would not be the last, for this near scam to be sprung on. The Company should embark on a relentless media education so no one falls prey to the meter or any other form of cheating customers.

With all their many offices and agents spread across the country, ECG can easily spread the word around.  In addition, they could begin sending unsolicited alerts to customers about how to avoid the meter or other ECG-related fraud. 

Above all, ECG should introduce toll-free numbers for reporting suspected criminals in cases of fraud.  Their focus should not only be on illegal connections and revenue mobilisation. Customers need their protection as well.

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The writer can be contacted via email at vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com