5 divorce schemes from housing and communal services scammers, which you need to watch out for

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Read it yourself and warn your acquaintances.

1. Fake payments

A receipt from the management company is thrown into the mailbox. It looks usually, it contains an unsuspecting amount. Only the barcode and details are different: if you use them for payment, then all the money will go to fraudsters.

What to do

Check your receipt for authenticity before paying. First, find your data. Among other things, the payment must indicate:

• surname, name, patronymic of the owner of the apartment;
• the postal address of the apartment;
• personal account of the home owner;
• area of the room.

Fraudsters do not always have access to the complete database, so some information may be missing or contain errors. This is already a reason to be wary.

Check the details with the previous payment. If they don't match, call your resource or management company. Just look at the number not on the last receipt, but on the previous ones or on the Internet. Ask the operator if the details have changed. If so, which ones.

2. Planned work

An ad appears on the driveway or in the mailbox. It says that then the planned work will be carried out in the house to clean pipes, check the quality of water, eliminate insects and rodents - emphasize the necessary. Of course, the master will not have enough time for everyone. Therefore, you need to make an appointment in advance by calling the specified phone number.

The victim is captivated by the official appearance of the paper, the tone of the announcement and, of course, a hint of collectivity - this also applies to all apartments. "If they were scammers, would an ad appear?" - the person thinks, is in a hurry to call and, at best, pays for the minutes of the conversation. At worst, a master comes to him and events develop according to one of the scenarios:

• Cleaning of pipes. Your drain can be cleaned with a cable, and the pipes can be cleaned with some monstrous unit, which in fact is completely useless. They will take a fee for the service or try to sell you a miracle cure that will dissolve the plaque inside the battery, even if you lubricate the baseboard under it with it.
• Checking the water quality. Behind this supposedly free service lies the sale of filters for the purification of tap water. But first you need to demonstrate how dirty the tap liquid is. To do this, measure the degree of its mineralization, and mineral salts will definitely be there. They can also subject the water to electrolysis, due to which the salts will precipitate, and these flakes will be passed off as "terrible dirt". Then the victim will be shown a sample from the filter - distilled water, in which there are no impurities. Gullible people are easily bought into such divorces.
• Destruction of rodents and insects. For a lot of money, you will be offered either pseudo-work, or a three-kopeck crayon.
• Diagnostics of windows. The scheme is the same as with water. The wizard will find out some kind of problem, the "repair" of windows will cost a tidy sum.
• Collective reconnection of gas equipment. Here scammers will sell a gas trap that allegedly reports leaks.

In the process, attackers can not only get money for pseudo-work or unnecessary devices. Often they spy on where the victim gets the bills, and then take the valuables - at best, imperceptibly. Sometimes the victims are drunk, for example, with test water from a filter with the addition of sleeping pills, or beaten.

Ads are the easiest way to get already warmed up customers. But often scammers themselves call potential victims, or even arrange door-to-door rounds. However, the consequences will be the same.

What to do

Here's a set of a young social phobia:

• Ignore these ads and don't call anyone. If you are already worried about rodents or draft from windows, look for a trusted master. You can take contacts from friends or find information on the Web - there, at least, reviews are available.
• If you really want to call on the ad, first check the number and name of the company on the Internet. Most likely, a lot of records with complaints of fraud will discourage the hunt.
• Don't open doors to strangers. Yes, adults can do this too. Everyone you are waiting for (relatives, acquaintances, couriers) calls first. And suddenly they only come in trouble.

3. Verification and replacement of meters

Most often, scammers act by throwing flyers into the mailbox. They inform about the need for urgent verification or replacement of meters. And it works because they cite regulations and face heavy fines. However, sometimes scammers are looking for an easy way and still post general announcements. And sometimes they go to apartments.

The result is one. A "master" comes to you, who conducts a fictitious verification. It is even worse if he does change the counter. This can only be done by accredited companies. If an employee of the sharashkin office breaks the seal from an old device, you will be the last one here and you will receive a fine for amateur performance. The payment for the resource will be recalculated according to the standard, and not according to the counter. Additionally, you will need to pay for the check and sealing of the meter.

What to do

Do not panic. The timing of the next verification of the meters is indicated in your receipt of the housing and communal services. If this information is not there, you can find the passport of the metering device and look in it. In extreme cases, contact the management company. They know exactly the date from which you need to charge the utility bill in a new way. If the contract for the supply of the resource is concluded directly with the supplying company, you should call, respectively, there.

If the deadline is really approaching when the meter needs to be verified or replaced, contact only an accredited company. You can find it in a special registry.

4. State program to replace or repair anything

There are announcements that the privileged categories of citizens are ready to change doors, windows, batteries at a special price. True, contrary to expectations, a special one is overpriced. Sometimes potential victims are phoned - probably from a database obtained somewhere. Beneficiary pensioners are at a particular risk. Often they are additionally intimidated by the fact that replacement or repair of anything is required by law.

What to do

Remember where free (or concessional) cheese is usually found, and explain this to familiar retirees. If any assistance program exists, there are usually two options:

• They shout about her from every iron, and it is impossible not to know about her.
• They are silent about her and do not hang up announcements. Just remember the last time you were wanted to foist money.

If you are still in doubt, check if you are entitled to something, in the department of social protection or in the pension fund.

5. Disconnection for debts

Fraudsters come, talk about arrears in payments for housing and communal services, scare them with blackouts and offer to partially pay the debt now in order to avoid sanctions. Naturally, the money just goes into their pocket. In the worst case, it all ends in theft.

What to do

Examine how debtor sanctions work. The supply of the resource can be terminated only after two months of non-payment. Then the user should be informed about the disconnection and given 20 days to think about it. And only after that some restrictions or termination of the provision of services are possible. And only extortionists can demand cash.