Incredible, but true: a smart guy is offering at-home training to tamper with a Linky meter with the promise of big savings on electricity bills. A dangerous and illegal practice which exposes you to heavy fines.
Electricity prices continue to rise at an astonishing speed, with more than 25% increase in 2023, and it is not going to get better! Between the scheduled end of the price shield and future increases from February 2024, we are all very worried about our electricity bills, which promise to be steep. 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. And some users are ready to do anything to reduce their electricity bill.
Scammers have understood this well and do not hesitate to capitalize on it. As spotted by the Zataz site, a criminal actually posted a small ad offering paid training to learn how to tamper with your Linky meter. In his “commercial offer”, he explains acquiring a “unique know-how”, which allows you to become a Linky electrician and reduce the price of your electricity bill by 50% to 75% and do the same for “customers”! For the tidy sum of 1,650 euros, the training includes the trainer’s travel to the location chosen for the training, the tools necessary to tamper with the meter, modification of the meter to reduce consumption by 50% to 70%, lead weights originals to close the meter and even support in the event of a problem. The total to set up a small lucrative business, a Linky meter modification selling between 280 and 550 euros on the parallel market.
Let’s say it clearly: don’t embark on this kind of adventure, because it could cost you dearly! First, you are not sure that the “trainer” is not defrauding you by taking your money without any compensation. Then, and above all, 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 you could get into big trouble with the law. 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.
In November 2023, five people were taken into police custody in Occitanie for fraudulently manipulating Linky meters. By canvassing door to door, they offered to illegally open meters to install electrical bypasses, allowing consumers 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. Two of the people received prison sentences and financial sanctions. Enedis was also responsible for communicating the list of customers involved in this matter to the courts. “They are all perpetrators of the organized gang fraud, including the customers”, underlined Étienne Manteaux, the public prosecutor of Besançon. Careless customers who have had their Linky meter tampered with should also face heavy fines. You have been warned!