Fraudsters selling dangerous energy saving devices to UK consumers

More than 200 complaints about phone calls from fraudsters fooling people into buying dangerous energy saving devices are probably only "the tip of the iceberg" warned the Trading Standards Insitutute.

The victims are called by the fraudsters who claim to be their energy supplier or working in partnership with them. Victims are offered a £99 plug in device which the callers claims can save people 40 per cent on their energy bills.

But according to tests run by trading standards, a number of the items sold not only failed to satisfy electrical safety standards but do not deliver any tangible energy savings.

The calls, which have much in common with the bogus PC security cold call scam, show how as consumers get more savvy about onine crimes,  fraudsters are initially using new and cheaper phone technologies to approach their victims.

Ron Gainsford, Trading Standards Institute chief executive, said: "Consumers are warned not to use the product as they pose a risk of fire and electrocution and a safety recall has been issued for the items traced so far.

"Unscrupulous criminals are using the rising energy prices as an opportunity to lure in cash strapped consumers - elderly people seem to have been deliberately targeted. The number of complaints we are currently dealing with is bound to be only the tip of the iceberg."

The energy saving cold call scam like the PC security calls often appear to have a lot of information about their victim; in these cases who the person's energy supplier is and even more concerning some or all the digits of the debit or credit card of the victim.

So far four different suppliers have been named, 1 Stop Marketing Solutions, ITC Development Corp, Power Saver and Athico Ltd, but warned that the fraudsters could be operating under other names too.

Some of these names could be very similar to genuine companies - for example Power Saver Ltd, based in Tonbridge, Kent is not involved in this fraud and trading standards said that "the director of Athico Ltd appears to have been a victim of the scam himself" and has closed down the company.

So far trading standards has no idea how the fraudsters have got hold of victim's personal details although lists of some personal data can be bought but not of credit cards.

Westminster trading standards have been investigating the scam as a London W1 Oxford Street address for the scam is given. Sue Jones from Westminster trading standards said: "The address they give is that of a virtual office provider, the companies involved in these scams are not actually situated there - we believe the call centre they use is based abroad and the appliances appear to be distributed by a number of individuals in the UK.

"We know that these fraudsters have been duping consumers across the country into paying £99 for the energy saving device and have been told the caller always appears to be very credible by already knowing the consumers' details, their energy supplier and sometimes some or all of the digits of their credit/ debit card.

"Often consumers do not realise that they have been defrauded until they receive the dodgy looking device with instructions in broken English and the accompanying invoice which names an unknown supplier and often gives an American address."

If consumers have responded to one of these cold calls they should report the matter to Action Fraud on or Consumer Direct and their bank to stop their debit/ credit card. Trading standards warned that if a device has been received they should not use it and dispose of it carefully.