People are being warned to avoid a scam in which criminals offer cut-price energy to those with pre-payment meters.
A report by Energy UK shows the number of customers affected has reached 114,000, and reveals the top 20 hotspots for prepayment meter fraud.
Data from the leading energy companies shows that the fraud organised by criminal gangs is hitting customers across the country. The worst affected areas range from big cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester to areas such as Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea.
Customers are being urged to only buy their electricity meter top-ups from official PayPoint and Payzone retailers or the Post Office to avoid being scammed. Otherwise, the customer will end up paying twice: once to the criminal and then again to their electricity supplier who can detect the fraud.
If you've lost money to a fraud like this, report it to Action Fraud.
Read more about this scam on the Energy UK website and visit the Top-up Safe website for more tips and advice.
Please note: Action Fraud is not responsible for the content on external websites.
To report a fraud, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
