The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has cautioned customers against fraudsters who demand payments through mobile money accounts in exchange for ECG services such as meter installation, replacement, or debt cancellation.

The warning follows complaints from customers who reported receiving calls from unknown numbers instructing them to pay money for meters to be installed or replaced.

According to Ing. George Amoah, General Manager of ECG in the Ashanti West Region, the company has no mobile money account and customers should disregard anyone demanding payment through such channels.

“They reach out to customers via social media or phone calls and ask customers to make a payment to certain mobile money numbers for their meters to be installed or replaced. In some instances, they claim it’s an installation fee and end up impersonating ECG officials like the District Manager, accountant or Technical Officer,” Ing. Amoah explained.

He emphasized that with the introduction of ECG’s cashless system, all transactions must be initiated through the ECG PowerApp or shortcode *226#, which allows payments without mobile money charges.

Ing. Amoah expressed concern about the rising activities of fraudsters and assured the public that ECG is working with security agencies to track and arrest them.

“Just last week, some fraudsters called a customer who had applied for a meter with ECG to pay 900 Cedis for the meter to be installed. The customer paid the money, and the fraudsters demanded an additional 500 Cedis as an installation fee to the Momo number 0508058638.

However, the customer became suspicious and visited our office at Adum for clarification before he realised these fraudsters were not officials of ECG, and they stopped picking up his calls. There was a similar incident at Breman, where an old man paid 2,000 Cedis to fraudsters who also stopped picking up his calls after receiving payment. We are liaising with the security agencies to bring these perpetrators to book,” he explained.

He noted that such cases have been reported in Adum, Kokoben, Suame, Danyame, Abuakwa, and Ahinsan Districts, with fraudsters using numbers such as 0531807230, 0508790801, 0543803302, and 0532752541.

Educating the public on the proper procedure for applying for a meter, Ing. Amoah said customers must first complete their wiring with certified electricians, submit forms to the ECG Office, and pay a registration fee of 100 Cedis.

“Once the quotation is ready, you will receive an SMS from ECG with a unique code telling you how much to pay depending on the service requested. If you want to pay via the ECG PowerApp, you will initiate the transaction yourself, but ECG will not call you that your meter is ready, so send money to someone’s personal account or any mobile money number,” he stressed.

He further advised that customers should not pay money to contractors who install meters, adding:

“Replacement of faulty meters is free, so no customer should pay money to any person who calls or demands payment for a meter to be replaced.”

Addressing claims that ECG lacked meters, Ing. Amoah said the introduction of the Loss Reduction Project (LRP) had improved availability.

“With the introduction of the Loss Reduction Project, ECG has enough meters to service customers who pay for service applications and has commenced the replacement of faulty meters to enhance customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and reduce our losses,” he explained.

He appealed to the public to support ECG in curbing mobile money fraud by dealing directly with the company, making payments only at ECG offices or through its official digital platforms, and reporting fraudulent calls to the police or ECG offices.