[ 2011-04-09 ]

The electricity meter fraud has cost companies an estimated £12 million

Man arrested over electricity meter Scam
London (UK) - 08 April 2011 – Skynews - A
25-year-old housing officer has been arrested
after a Sky News investigation into electricity
meter fraud.

The electricity meter fraud has cost companies an
estimated £12 million

Detectives from North London executed a search
warrant on premises in Tottenham and a man was
taken away for questioning.

In March, we secretly filmed someone who called
himself 'David', illegally topping up an
electricity meter in a flat in South London with
£50 of electricity in return for £25 cash.

The sophisticated scam is possible because
criminals have cracked the technology required to
'clone' engineer’s pre-pay meter keys which do
not need to be topped-up before being used again.

Despite a national awareness campaign launched in
2010, police estimate 200,000 people have already
taken advantage of illegal top-ups.

But consumers who invite the conmen into their
homes for cheap electricity risk paying again if
they are caught.

The fraud is estimated to have cost energy
companies £12m worth of stolen electricity and
overall costs to the industry could reach £30m.

Although the activity is concentrated in London,
data from the UK's leading energy suppliers
reveals the gangs are also operating in
Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and
Southampton.

Police expect more arrests to follow.

Source - Sky news

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