Dozens of unsuspecting customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) are losing huge sums of money to fraudsters posing as company officials, despite repeated warnings from the power distributor.
The scammers, who often impersonate district managers, accountants, and technical officers, contact customers through phone calls and social media, demanding mobile money payments in exchange for meters, installations, or debt cancellations.
In one recent case, a customer who had applied for a meter was defrauded of GHS 900 and was later asked to pay an additional GHS 500 before becoming suspicious and checking with ECG officials in Adum. In another, an elderly man at Breman paid GHS 2,000 to fraudsters who stopped picking his calls immediately after receiving the funds.
“These are not isolated cases,” said Ing. George Amoah, General Manager of ECG in the Ashanti West Region. “Reports have come in from Adum, Kokoben, Suame, Danyame, Abuakwa, and Ahinsan Districts. We are working with the police to track and arrest these criminals.”
According to him, the syndicates operate using mobile numbers including 0531807230, 0508790801, 0543803302, and 0532752541. ECG insists that it does not operate any mobile money accounts, and all payments should be made through its PowerApp, shortcode *226#, or directly at ECG offices.
Ing. Amoah urged customers to avoid paying individuals for services, stressing that faulty meter replacement is free and legitimate applications require only a GHS 100 registration fee.
Despite widespread concerns about meter shortages, ECG says it has secured enough meters under its Loss Reduction Project (LRP) and is actively replacing faulty meters to improve service delivery.
“We need the public’s cooperation,” Ing. Amoah added. “Anyone who receives such calls should refuse payment and report immediately to ECG or the police. Together we can stop these fraudsters.”
