The Ministry of Energy’s Power Division on Friday warned electricity consumers against fraudulent schemes involving fake links and QR codes being circulated by criminal elements to steal personal data under the guise of the government’s electricity subsidy programme.

In an advisory, the Power Division said consumers were being lured into clicking suspicious links and completing a four-step process requiring them to share personal information before entering a six-digit verification code.

Officials cautioned that such methods were being used to unlawfully obtain sensitive consumer data.

The spokesperson for the Power Division said some elements were also using QR codes to pursue “malicious objectives”, stressing that no electricity bill-related information could be submitted on any platform other than the government’s official system.

The spokesperson clarified that any such collection of consumer information outside authorised channels was illegal and confirmed that law enforcement agencies had been informed about those involved in the fraudulent activities.

Citizens were advised not to provide any information, digitally or on paper, for subsidy purposes outside officially designated platforms.

Separately, the spokesperson said a technical issue affecting the official website for two days had now been resolved after the server capacity was enhanced. He added that the QR registration system was functioning normally and that more than one million users had already completed their registration process.

The spokesperson further explained that households with multiple electricity meters registered under different family members’ names were being counted as separate families within the system.