QuickCheck: Does a utility company send text messages with links to customers with overdue bills?

To paraphrase Destiny’s Child: Have I paid my bills? Have I paid my electricity bill? If I did, maybe I could relax.

Sometimes we forget to pay our utility bills, which can lead us to fear a power or water outage.

Some claimed that utility companies like Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) were sending automated SMS messages with payment links to customers if their payment was due.

Is this true?

VERDICT:

FAKE

Although TNB sends text messages, the utility company does not send text messages directing customers to pay their overdue bills by clicking on a hyperlink in the message.

According to the company’s social media post, people who receive messages asking to pay their “overdue electricity bill” should not click on the link in the message as it is a scam widespread.

“Use only official channels to pay your electricity bill,” the company said on its Facebook page.

These official channels include the myTNB app, myTNB portal, Touch’n Go e-wallet, JomPAY and online banking.

So remember, as long as you stick to these channels to pay your bills, your electricity bills, you can relax.