Beware of so-called Enedis agents who offer to modify your Linky meter to reduce your electricity consumption! These pirate technicians carry out fraudulent manipulations, which expose you to heavy fines.
In a context of energy crisis, while the prices of energy suppliers continue to increase, everyone is looking to save money… including illegally. For this, the Linky meter – the smart electricity meter from Enedis, the manager of the electricity distribution network in France, which transmits and receives data remotely – is the focus of all attention. Thus, more and more users are tempted to commit fraud to reduce their bill, by carrying out various manipulations. Some even take advantage of this to make money off the backs of users having difficulty paying the bill at the end of the month. For example, last December a smart guy offered at-home training to tamper with a Linky meter, with the promise of big savings on electricity bills (see our article). However, this is not without risk, whether in terms of security or illegality.
The situation is visibly serious since Enedis indicated, in a statement published on March 5, 2024, having been informed of “the use of his name and the identity of certain of his collaborators for fraudulent purposes”. Simply put, malicious individuals impersonate the company and its employees to make changes “illegal and dangerous” on electrical panels and Linky meters of its customers. This leads to distorted electricity consumption, much lower than it should be. Also, the company calls on its 37.5 million customers to be vigilant.
Linky scam: manipulations that can be expensive
Please remember that Enedis does not carry out any commercial canvassing and does not sell any service or product that could alter its customers’ electrical panel with the aim of reducing their electricity bill. The company only intervenes with them for troubleshooting after a power outage, to install a Linky meter, to record consumption, to make the electrical connection or to activate an electricity contract at the request of an electricity supplier. In addition, interventions are always subject to a notice or an appointment previously agreed with the client, whether the latter’s presence at home is necessary or not.
It goes without saying that tampering with a Linky meter is both dangerous and completely illegal! This type of intervention on a power line is a delicate operation, reserved for specialized technicians, which exposes you to the risk of electrocution, and even fire. And that’s without counting the big problems with the justice system. Indeed, the falsification of electricity meters constitutes a violation of Enedis’ property rights, while the misappropriation of energy is considered theft, or even fraud. Also, such practices are punishable by heavy criminal penalties of up to one million euros fine and ten years of imprisonment. These sanctions may concern individuals illegally modifying network works, but also customers accepting the implementation of these frauds.
Linky scam: several people already convicted
In December 2023, two men were convicted of proposing and carrying out illegal modifications to the electrical panels of individuals and businesses to falsify their consumption and reduce their bills. The main perpetrator received a prison sentence of 2 years, including 12 months suspended, as well as a fine of 25,000 euros, including 15,000 suspended, for organized gang fraud and damage to property. The tout, for his part, received 1 year in prison and a fine of 3,000 euros for fraud. As for the customers who benefited from the fraud, they were also convicted by the Besançon judicial court.
Before that, in November 2023, two people were sentenced to prison terms and financial sanctions for fraudulently manipulating Linky meters. By canvassing door to door, they offered to illegally open meters to install electrical bypasses, allowing users to reduce their consumption, and therefore their bills, while masking the operation using ‘a lead seal. A way, supposedly, to save up to 75% on their electricity bill, for a payment of 1,000 to 2,500 euros for the service. Customers who had their meters tampered with also received heavy fines.
HAS the slightest suspicion of fraud or scam, you are invited to contact Enedis on 09 70 83 19 70, or to alert the General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression (DGCCRF), whose contact details are found at this address.