Rosvodokanal warns of scams involving water-meter checks

Fraudsters pose as water utility employees and demand urgent meter checks or replacements to obtain money and banking details, Rosvodokanal said in a report published by RIA Novosti on 9 October.

According to the company’s experts, fake inspectors visit homes, pretend to examine meters and charge between 1,500 and 2,000 roubles. They described this as the most common scheme.

In another scenario, criminals deliberately break a meter’s seal and then threaten the owner with a purported fine of 15,000–30,000 roubles for allegedly unauthorised water use. Those amounts refer to demands made by the fraudsters.

Criminals also seek banking details under the pretext of processing an inspection request, recalculating bills or entering information into an electronic database. They may ask for a card number, CVV code, SMS password or installation of a special application.

Rosvodokanal stressed that genuine utility employees do not request banking details, codes or passwords over the telephone. Gazeta.Ru carried the company’s warning.