KUCHING, Dec 18 — A fake discounted bill payment service provider has scammed 97 electricity account holders in Sarawak.

Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) said it had issued a public notice on December 9, urging the public to exercise caution regarding a Facebook page claiming to provide bill payment services with discounts of 30 to 35 per cent on Sesco bills.

It said yesterday a customer confirmed to have engaged with the fraudulent page, expecting discounts, and fell victim to the scam.

This customer, along with others, made payments to a third-party individual, believing the payments would be processed.

The individual collected cash from the customers and subsequently deposited bad cheques into SEB’s kiosks as ‘proof’ of payment.

However, the cheques were rejected by the banks, resulting in unpaid bills for the affected accounts.

"Investigations revealed that the cheques were issued under a West Malaysian company with an expired registration, as verified by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM),” SEB said in a statement.

The company advised affected customers to immediately stop all communication with the scammer, file reports with their banks, and lodge police reports.

It also reminded customers that payments must be made exclusively through official or authorised channels, including cash or credit card at SEB’s customer service counters, payment kiosks, the ‘SEB cares’ mobile app, PayBills Malaysia, Pos Malaysia, JomPAY, or FPX Channel via internet banking for participating banks.

For more information contact Sarawak Energy’s Customer Care Centre on 1300-88-3111 or email customercare@sarawakenergy.com. — The Borneo Post