Yesterday (Tuesday, 23rd August), a Facebook user named Shantini Venugopal took to her profile to share a supposed Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) scam that may put people’s homes at risk of being robbed. In her post, she wrote, “Good Lord! The schemes that people come up with!! ? ? If only they used that same energy n intelligence to help contribute to society instead of robbing it!”
According to Shantini, a homeowner recently received an official letter/note which claims that TNB had been to the house to carry out some work but was unable to access the premise as the house was locked. It is unclear as to what work is needed to be done as it was marked under “lain-lain” (others).
The note (as seen above), which looks legit at first glance, provided 2 handwritten mobile phone numbers and went on to request for the said homeowner to make an appointment within a week from the date of notification (11th August 2016) so that “work can be carried out immediately”. It was even signed off by the TNB KL Utara branch manager.
Shantini’s Facebook post went on to explain that TNB has confirmed that the letter/note is a new way for robbers to gain access into your house. Her post has since been shared over 100 times.
There seems to be some confusion, and understandably so, as TNB’s logo is standardised blue and red across the board, not red and black as seen in the above letter/note’s letterhead. Refer to the screenshots below to compare:
We’ve reached out to TNB for comment, and according to a TNB Careline rep, the content of the letter/note is accurate as the name of the person who issued it (Ramesh) is an actual TNB meter reader based in TNB Kepong, and the original contact number was struck out because the TNB KL Utara branch has shifted to TNB Kepong and is no longer in operation.
The rep also confirmed that although the information is legit, the purpose of the letter/note is not. As such, TNB is currently in the process of notifying their customers via their TNB Careline Facebook page about the letter/note.
UPDATE (25th August, 2:27pm):
TNB Careline has posted up an official statement via their Facebook page with regards to the above matter. In their statement, they explained that the letter/note is legit and that it wasn’t issued with the intention of robbery. TNB also explained that the employee left the letter/note as he couldn’t enter the homeowner’s premise to access the meter.
If you have any doubts at all about official letters/notes from TNB, reach out to them via their Careline by dialling or SMSing 15454, or e-mail tnbcareline@tnb.com.my.
For more information on how to reach out to TNB’s Customer Care, visit their website or their Facebook page.
