Rooftop Solar Subsidy and Installation Scam over the phone

How it looks over the phone, the red flags and what to do.

A phone call lets the scammer talk fast, sound confident and keep you from thinking. The caller ID can be faked, so it proves nothing. Rooftop Solar Subsidy and Installation Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A caller or door-to-door agent offers a rooftop solar subsidy for a fee or advance. See how fake installers and portals collect money and details.

What rooftop solar subsidy and installation scam looks like over the phone

• Being told to stay on the line and not to tell your family.
• Instructions to install a screen-sharing app or to press keys on the phone.
• A second "senior officer" who takes over the call.

The scammer uses a copy of an official-looking portal or a printed brochure with the logo of a scheme. He visits homes and housing societies, or calls from a list of electricity consumers, and quotes your electricity bill details. He explains that the subsidy is 'limited' and that only a registered installer can apply on your behalf, which is why you must pay him first.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• A subsidy offered by a caller or visitor, not through the official portal.
• A registration fee or large advance paid to a personal account or in cash.
• A quota or a deadline that only the agent mentions.
• A sanction letter with no application number you can check.
• You are asked to move money to a "safe account".
• You are told to keep the call secret.

What to do

1. Apply only through the official scheme portal or the electricity board office.
2. Do not pay any fee or advance to an agent at the door or on a call.
3. Ask for the installer's registration and visit a past customer's home.
4. If you already installed an app on the call, uninstall it and switch on airplane mode, then call your bank at once.
5. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).
6. Hang up. A real bank or office will not mind that you call them back.

Report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility). If money moved, call 1930 immediately.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in if you paid online.
2. Tell your bank on the number printed on your card about the transfer.
3. Report the agent to the electricity board and the scheme office.
4. File a written complaint at the police station with receipts and the brochure.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio's link check can look at a registration portal link you paste and warn about lookalike domains, and the scam check marks the quota pressure and the advance request in a message. Money Shield gives a checklist before a payment. It cannot judge the quality of an installer or the status of your application, which must be confirmed on the official portal.

Full guide: Rooftop Solar Subsidy and Installation Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: WhatsApp, SMS, social media.

Questions