Rooftop Solar Subsidy and Installation Scam by SMS

How it looks by SMS, the red flags and what to do.

A text message is the cheapest way for a scammer to reach thousands of phones at once, and the sender name can look like a bank, a courier or a government office. 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 by SMS

• A request to call a number, install an app or share an OTP.
• Several near-identical messages arriving together from different senders.
• A sender name that resembles a bank, courier, tax or utility, or an ordinary mobile number.

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 text message

• 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.
• It tells you to install an app from a link instead of the official store.
• The link domain is not the one you type yourself for that organisation.

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. Open the official app or type the official website yourself to see if there is any real notice.
5. Paste the text into a scam checker (Safeavio Sentinel can check it) before you do anything else.
6. Report the sender on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) and block the number.

You can report suspicious SMS and calls on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) of the Department of Telecommunications.

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: phone call, WhatsApp, social media.

Questions