To cover the losses, successive governments increased electricity prices and imposed a surcharge of Rs 3.23 per unit to pay off debts incurred by power distribution companies, raising power prices to the highest levels in the region. Photo: archive
ISLAMABAD:
The Energy Division of the Ministry of Energy on Friday warned electricity consumers against fraudulent schemes involving fake links and QR codes circulated by criminal elements to steal personal data under the pretext of the government’s electricity subsidy programme.
In an advisory, the Energy Division said consumers were being encouraged to click on suspicious links and complete a four-step process that required them to share personal information before entering a six-digit verification code.
Officials warned that such methods were being used to illegally obtain sensitive consumer data.
The Energy Division spokesperson said some elements were also using QR codes to pursue “malicious targets”, and emphasized that information related to electricity bills could not be submitted on any platform other than the official government system.
The spokesperson clarified that any collection of consumer information outside of authorized channels was illegal and confirmed that authorities had been informed about those involved in the fraudulent activities.
Citizens were advised not to provide any information, digital or paper, for subsidy purposes outside of officially designated platforms.
Separately, the spokesperson said that a technical problem that affected the official website for two days had been resolved after the server capacity was improved. He added that the QR registration system is working normally and that more than one million users have already completed their registration process.
The spokesperson further explained that households with multiple electricity meters registered under the names of different family members were counted as separate families within the system.
