Cyber fraudsters force Telangana power discom to put QR code payment option on hold

Keeping the security aspect in mind, we have decided not to issue QR codes along with the power bills, say officials

Hyderabad: With the growing number of cyber fraud incidents targeting electricity consumers, the Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited (TGSPDCL), which announced last month that it would issue energy bills to its consumers with a QR code, put the facility on hold.

The idea was to ensure hassle-free payment without the need for entering the Unique Service Connection (USC) number in the utility’s website or app following the discontinuation of direct payment through third-party apps (UPIs) from August. However, SPDCL has dropped the idea fearing cyber fraudsters will misuse the facility.

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On July 1, the officials of the Southern Discom announced that due to the implementation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, consumers would not be able to make the payment of their monthly energy bills through third-party apps and that the consumers have to pay their bills only through the utility’s website or app in addition to the bill collection centres and counters.

According to SPDCL Chairman and Managing Director Musharraf Ali Faruqui, the company decided against issuing QR codes along with the bills as the cyber fraudsters might use the facility to dupe consumers.

“Keeping the security aspect in mind, we have decided not to issue QR codes along with the power bills. The cyber fraudsters may clone the QR codes and loot the gullible consumers. This may turn into a big scam. Hence we decided against issuing QR codes,” he said.

The decision was taken as citizens reported some cases of fraudsters using SMS & WhatsApp messages related to electricity KYC (know your customer) updates and malicious APK files to manipulate and gain control over victims’ devices, he said. “These messages ask people to update their details in order to prevent their electricity from being disconnected. They frequently include harmful links or ask for personal information, which scammers use to their advantage for financial gain,” he said.

The SPDCL has already cautioned the public against online scammers trying to loot money from consumers in the name of pending electricity bill payments. It had urged its consumers to stay vigilant and exercise utmost caution when dealing with payment requests and only use bona fide SPDCL-authorised platforms to make payment of their electricity bills, he said.

“We regularly issue advisories on various public platforms, urging people to not click on any links sent from unknown or unverified sources,” Musharraf said.

Bills via UPI in two weeks
The SPDCL CMD informed that the company was taking steps to resume power bills payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI). “We are taking steps to resolve the issue. If everything goes well people will be able to pay power bills through UPI in the next two weeks,” he said.