Press Release
Imposters strike again – this time with forged BSES stationary – to extort
money
BSES urges customers to be on alert
Demand ID proof & Pay ONLY at BSES designated offices
BSES has recently come across some incidents of
forgery and misrepresentation – where gullible and unaware customers have been targeted
by imposters and conmen. Posing as BSES employees, these imposters now carry
fake/forged BSES stationary and try to extract money from the unsuspecting
customers on one pretext or the other. Thankfully, some aware and alert
customers have thwarted such attempts.
Paschim
Vihar case
- Imposters strike
a carefully chosen target – unsuspecting wives - when men were at work
- Imposters
offer to settle the case of ‘allegedly tampered meter’ for Rs 50,000
- Imposters
were carrying fake BSES I Cards and papers
- Alert
customers thwart’s attempts of the con men and threatens to inform BSES
and Police
In a novel case, two imposters, posing as BSES
officials visited a carefully chosen target (names withheld on request) in
Paschim Vihar’s B Block in a bid to extort money. The imposters deliberately chose
a time when, the men of the house (two brothers) were away at work and only their
wives were at home. The imposters scared and psyched the unsuspecting ladies by
telling them that their electricity meters were tampered and they were liable
to pay huge penalties. The two were then asked to call their husbands and
persuade them to ‘settle’ the case for Rs 50,000.
The husbands, getting a call from their wives, reached
home and suspecting something amiss demanded the duo to show their Identity
cards. Their names, according to the I cards were Ashotosh Rana and Satish
Kumar. The I cards, though having a BSES logo, had tell tale signs of being
fake. Alerted, the customers confronted them and threatened to inform BSES and
the Police. The customer immediately informed BSES and tried to detain the duo
till the arrival of BSES official. But the imposters managed to flee – leaving behind
their bag and I Cards. A search of the bag revealed a stolen Accu-check
Instrument, fake BSES bills, application form, Enforcement Bills etc. In
addition, the bag also contained a diary mentioning a few names and address –
possibly a list of their victims or targets.
Separate complaints have been filed both by the
Customers and BSES against the duo at the Pashchim Vihar Police Station and investigations
are currently underway.
Badarpur Case –Fake Demand Note, Enforcement Bill and seals
- Imposters
dupe a gullible customers of Rs 39,200 against fake BSES documents
- Customer
are advised to ask for the Identity Card of BSES officials
- Customers are advised to
inform the nearest BSES office or dial 100 should they notice anything
suspicious
BSES has come across a case, where a customer
made payments of Rs 32,000 and Rs 7,200 towards an Enforcement penalty and a Demand
Note for new connection respectively, though against a genuine enforcement
case, but ended up getting duped by imposters and conmen.
The case was discovered, when the customer
visited the local BSES office, to enquire about the status of his ‘pending’
application for a new electricity connection. The official looking at the
receipts shown by the customer got alerted – for they had tell tale signs of
being fake and immediately informed senior officials.
Questioning of the customer revealed that a
few days earlier, he was approached by two persons, who convinced him that they were from BSES and had come, as
part of a newly launched service, to collect payments from home and facilitate
early installation of his meter. The gullible customer had paid them Rs 39200
in cash. The following day, the conmen again visited him and gave him printed receipts
for the payment made.
The receipts had tell tale sign of being fake.
Some of them included:
·
BSES logo on the receipt was
multi colour and the fonts were not uniform
·
K No was wrongly mentioned on
the enforcement bill. Even though the customer had been recently booked for
direct theft as he had no meter (and therefore no K No), the enforcement bill
mentioned a incorrect K No
·
DERC directive on the
receipt was incorrectly printed. In place of “As per DERC Directive Payment
above Rs 4000 /- is payable only through Cheque/DD” – the receipt said of “As
per DERC Directive Payment above Rs 32000 /- is payable only through Cheque/DD”
·
The word disconnection was
incorrectly spelt as Dish Connect Meter
“BSES urges its customers to
guard against unscrupulous elements - out to make a quick buck in a clandestine
manner and tarnish the company’s image – and not to get intimidated by their
threats and false assurances – and not to give them any money – whatever be the
reason. All Enforcement related and other payments (fines, penalties and other
commercial payment) and are to be made
only at designated BSES offices”, said a BSES official.
The official added, “Customers are further
advised to ascertain and verify the identity of persons wanting to check the
meter and should immediately alert the nearest BSES office or call 39999888 and
39999777 and inform the local Police should they notice anything suspicious”
BSES,
Delhi’s premier power distribution company, is committed to ensuring quality
and reliable electricity supply to all its consumers.
For further information please
contact:
|
Prashant Dua |
Chandra P Kamat |
|
Corporate Communications |
Corporate Communications |
|
39999870 / 9312007822 |
39999088/9350130304 |