Once again, dubious characters are trying to persuade customers of Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) to disclose personal data. SWG urgently advises caution.
Hardly a month goes by now without worried customers reporting obvious attempts at fraud to Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). A man is currently calling innocent people on 0157 35993368, pretending to be an employee of SWG and claiming that electricity prices will rise by 30 per cent. Not without immediately offering a supposedly better deal. In order to take advantage of this, however, the people called would have to provide their customer and meter number. "An outright lie to achieve success with a completely dubious sales pitch," explains SWG company spokeswoman Ina Weller. In fact, SWG's electricity prices remain stable.
Do not react at all
"It's best to hang up immediately," recommends Ina Weller. Because a 30 per cent price increase is out of the question for several reasons and is therefore more than suspicious. Quite apart from that, you won't get into a more difficult situation in the first place: in the known case, the suspected fraudster became loud when his victim made it clear that SWG had all his data. "Don't let yourself be put off by aggressive behaviour and end the conversation," emphasises Ina Weller. "That's not rude, but absolutely appropriate to the situation."
SWG ask for support
SWG is asking for help to prevent potential damage to its customers and to put a stop to the fraudsters. Anyone who suspects that they have been the victim of attempted fraud can call the SWG service number 0800 23 02 100 and describe the incident. The better SWG's knowledge of the fraudsters' methods, the greater the chance of protecting others and - if things go ideally - catching the fraudsters.