Energy scams aren’t new. But in 2026, they’ve become something else entirely more targeted, more convincing, and more difficult to dismiss as something that only happens to other people. If you’ve been thinking, “I’d never fall for that,” you’re exactly who this guide is written for. Because that confidence? Scammers are counting on it.
Over the past two years, with energy bills still sitting at historically uncomfortable levels and a string of government support schemes being rolled out, the fraud industry has had a field day. These criminals don’t operate out of dingy back rooms any more they use professional-grade branding, AI-generated voice calls, spoofed phone numbers, and cloned websites that look indistinguishable from the real thing. People who consider themselves switched-on, savvy, and not particularly vulnerable have lost hundreds, sometimes thousands of pounds.
This guide covers everything you need to know about how to avoid and stop energy scams in 2026 . The guide also covers who the scammers are targeting, what the most common scams look like right now, how to spot the warning signs before it’s too late, and crucially, what to do if you think you’ve already been caught out. There are also links throughout to the official UK bodies and resources you should actually be using.
Why Energy Scams Are So Prevalent Right Now
To understand why energy fraud has exploded in recent years, you need to understand the conditions that make it work. Scammers are essentially opportunists. They look for moments of public anxiety times when people are distracted, confused, and desperately seeking help and they fill that gap with fake solutions.
The energy crisis that gripped the UK from 2022 onwards created a perfect breeding ground. Bills doubled. Government schemes appeared and disappeared. Ofgem announced price cap changes seemingly every quarter. The public became accustomed to receiving emails, texts, and letters about rebates, discounts, and support payments which meant that when a fraudulent version of exactly that message arrived, nobody thought to question it.
According to Citizens Advice, over 40 million people have been targeted by scammers during the cost of living crisis, with 12% of those targeted specifically through an energy scam. That’s an enormous figure. It represents millions of households and that’s just the cases people were aware enough to flag.
The sad reality is that a significant proportion of people who get scammed never report it. Either they’re embarrassed, they’re unsure who to contact, or they simply don’t realise it’s happened until months later when the damage is already done.
The other reason energy scams are so effective right now is that they piggyback on genuine schemes. The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4), the Great British Insulation Scheme, and the Warm Home Discount are all real, legitimate programmes and all of them have been used as cover for scammers. When you’re being told about something that actually exists, your guard naturally drops.
The Most Common Energy Scams in 2026
Let’s get specific. These are the scams that are actively circulating right now, not the theoretical possibilities. Knowing what they look like is your single best defence.
1. Fake Ofgem Rebate and Refund Scams
This one has been running in various forms for a couple of years, but it’s evolved considerably. The original version was clunky badly worded texts offering a “£400 non-repayable discount” with obvious spelling mistakes and dodgy links.
The 2026 version is considerably more polished. Scammers impersonate Ofgem and send fraudulent messages asking people to apply for a £400 rebate, directing them to fake websites that closely mimic the official Ofgem site and ask for personal details and bank account information to “set up the direct debit.” The key thing to remember is that Ofgem is the energy regulator, not a supplier. It does not sell energy, it does not make payments directly to households, and it will never ask you for your bank details. If something appears to come from Ofgem and is asking for financial information, it is a scam. Full stop.
Ofgem’s own guidance is clear: any emails to or from the regulator will end in @ofgem.gov.uk, and the organisation will never request personal or bank details.
2. Fake British Gas and Energy Supplier Cold Calls
Recent reports show scammers impersonating British Gas through cold calls, with some callers demonstrating unsettling knowledge of the recipient’s personal information, including their email address and postcode. In some reported incidents, callers claimed there was a problem with an upcoming bill and requested banking details to “resolve” it.
This is a sophisticated version of the classic impersonation scam. The reason it works is partly because big, well-known suppliers are household names and when you hear “British Gas” or “Octopus Energy” or “EDF,” there’s an automatic trust response. That response is exactly what scammers are exploiting.
You might also receive calls from people describing themselves as your “energy savings adviser.” These calls are also likely to be scams, and you should end the call and contact your energy supplier using a trusted number found on a recent bill, not one provided by the caller.
A particularly nasty variant involves what’s called a “spoofed” number criminals use technology to make calls appear to come from a legitimate company’s official phone number, then pressure recipients to confirm personal information or passwords. Even if the number displaying on your phone looks genuine, that alone is not proof the call is legitimate.
3. Doorstep Meter Scams
The doorstep scam is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it remains highly effective particularly against older residents or those who live alone. Someone turns up at your door claiming to be a meter reader, a smart meter installer, or a representative from your supplier needing to carry out an inspection.
The scammer’s goal is either to gain physical access to your home, trick you into handing over personal and financial information, or install tampered equipment. Genuine meter readers will always carry photographic ID and won’t object if you want to call your energy supplier to verify their identity before letting them in.
Smart meters are free to install, and your energy supplier organises the installation using a qualified professional. If someone turns up uninvited claiming you need to pay for a smart meter installation, that’s a scam.
A useful protective measure is setting up a password scheme with your supplier. Most major UK energy companies will provide you with a codeword that their representatives use when visiting your home if the visitor can’t provide the agreed word, you don’t let them in. Simple, but effective.
4. Prepayment Meter Key Cloning
Some scammers fake energy credits and sell them at a discount through doorstep selling, and in the process clone your prepayment meter key. This scam targets households on prepayment meters often lower-income households who are already stretched with what appears to be a bargain top-up offer.
The reality is you end up paying for credits that don’t work, potentially having your meter tampered with, and in some cases unwittingly participating in energy theft (which carries its own serious consequences).
5. Fake Energy Efficiency Grant Scams
This is one of the most active categories right now. Fraudsters frequently impersonate government schemes, energy companies, or local authorities to pressure people into agreeing to assessments or installations, demanding upfront payments or pressuring people to sign up immediately.
The ECO4 scheme and the Great British Insulation Scheme are both genuine but genuine providers will never demand upfront payments, pressure you to sign up on the spot, or begin work without a properly arranged appointment.
Common doorstep tactics include telling householders their home is unsafe and needs immediate changes, offering energy-efficiency improvements that will save money on bills, or claiming that spray foam insulation needs to be urgently removed. The urgency and the safety angle are deliberate they’re designed to override your natural caution.
If anyone turns up at your door claiming you qualify for free government-funded work, ask them for their installer certification details, take their information away, and independently verify their credentials through official channels. You can check registered energy efficiency installers through TrustMark the government-endorsed quality scheme for work in and around the home.
6. Solar Panel Scams
Households with solar panels are increasingly being targeted, with scammers telling homeowners they must sign up to urgent maintenance contracts or face damage to their property. Bogus solar panel salespeople tend to be particularly pushy and try to rush victims into making decisions on the spot.
Any legitimate solar panel company will give you time to consider their offer, will be registered with relevant trade bodies, and will have verifiable references and credentials. The pressure to decide now, today, before the offer disappears, is a classic scam technique. Real offers don’t evaporate in twenty minutes.
7. Warm Home Discount Text Scams
The UK Government has warned about a rise in text scams targeting people about the Warm Home Discount. If you’re eligible for this scheme, you’ll receive a letter in the post not a text message and you won’t be asked for any bank details.
Scammers craft text messages that appear to come from official sources, create a sense of urgency with deadlines, and include links asking for personal details. The goal is identity theft or direct financial fraud.
If you receive a text claiming to relate to a government energy payment, the default assumption should be that it’s a scam. Look up the official scheme details independently the GOV.UK website is always the right starting point.
8. Fake Energy Comparison Websites
Scammers sometimes create fraudulent energy comparison websites designed either to harvest personal data or to steer users towards poor-value deals. Legitimate comparison sites can be genuinely useful, but only if they’re reputable. Look for the Ofgem Confidence Code logo, which signals that the site has signed up to Ofgem’s voluntary code of practice and commits to providing unbiased comparisons.
Some less extreme versions of this while not outright scams are still problematic. Some unethical businesses cold call people and try to get them to switch energy providers or sign up to switching services, taking commission from suppliers for locking customers into long and expensive contracts. Always do your own research through established comparison services like Uswitch, MoneySuperMarket, or Compare the Market.
9. WhatsApp, Messenger, and Social Media Scams
Energy fraud isn’t just happening by phone call and email scammers operate across WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and social media platforms, sending messages that convincingly impersonate genuine energy brands or even claim to be from Ofgem.
These messages often look professional. They may include genuine-looking logos, colour schemes, and branded language. They may also include links to websites that are pixel-perfect copies of real company pages. Never click a link in an unsolicited message about your energy bills always type the web address directly into your browser.
How to Spot the Warning Signs: A Practical Checklist
Knowing the specific scam types helps, but what you really need is a reliable internal alarm system a set of instincts that kicks in whenever something feels off. Here are the universal red flags that transcend any particular type of scam.
The contact was unexpected. Any uninvited call, text, email, or doorstep visit about your energy should immediately raise your alertness. Genuine suppliers do occasionally contact customers, but they will never pressure you or ask for sensitive details out of nowhere.
The deal sounds too good to be true. An offer of dramatically cheaper bills, a large cash rebate, free installation of expensive technology, or an “exclusive” rate unavailable anywhere else these are not the hallmarks of legitimate business. Deals that seem significantly better than what genuine providers offer are either rip-offs or scams.
You’re being pressured to act immediately. Urgency is manufactured. “This offer expires today.” “We need your bank details now to process your refund.” “If we don’t start the work this week, you’ll lose the grant.” Legitimate organisations never try to rush or panic you into a decision. If someone is doing that, they are trying to stop you from thinking clearly.
You’re being asked for bank details, passwords, or PINs. No energy supplier, no government body, and certainly not Ofgem will ever ask for your passwords or PINs. If you’re asked for these, end the interaction immediately.
The payment method is unusual. Requests to pay by cryptocurrency, gift card, wire transfer to an unfamiliar account, or any other non-standard method are enormous red flags. Legitimate businesses don’t operate this way.
The email address looks slightly off. Scammers register domains that closely resemble real ones ofgem-refunds.co.uk, britishgas-support.com, octopusenergy-help.org. Look carefully. Real Ofgem communications will always come from an @ofgem.gov.uk address, nothing else.
The branding looks stretched or distorted. The Ofgem logo should always appear correctly proportioned in any genuine communication a blurry or stretched logo is a sign something’s wrong.
The caller knows personal information about you. This is one of the more unsettling developments some scammers have obtained partial personal information through data breaches and use it to create a false sense of legitimacy. The fact that someone knows your postcode or email address doesn’t mean the call is genuine.
Specific Groups That Are Being Targeted
While anyone can be targeted, scammers do tend to focus their efforts strategically. Understanding who’s most at risk helps both with personal vigilance and with looking out for the people around you.
Older residents remain disproportionately targeted in doorstep scams. This isn’t because older people are less intelligent it’s because scammers target people who are more likely to be home during the day, may have more disposable savings, and may be slightly less familiar with the latest fraud patterns. If you have elderly relatives, share this information with them.
Households on prepayment meters are targeted for the discounted top-up scams described above. These are often households already facing financial pressure, which makes the apparent bargain even more tempting.
Homeowners with solar panels or recent energy-efficiency improvements are specifically targeted with fake maintenance contracts and urgent safety warnings. The scammers know you’ve already invested in this technology and use that knowledge against you.
People who’ve recently moved home are sometimes targeted because their details may have appeared in public records, and scammers assume they’ll be confused about which supplier they’re with and more likely to engage with any official-sounding contact.
Small business owners face a distinct version of this problem. Energy scams targeting businesses often involve criminals posing as energy company representatives to extract sensitive data and compromise data security. Small business owners managing multiple responsibilities may be quicker to act on something that looks official.
What to Do if You Think You’re Being Targeted
The most important skill here is knowing when to stop. If something feels wrong mid-call or mid-conversation trust that feeling.
On a suspicious phone call: It’s fine to simply hang up. You do not owe politeness to a fraudster. If you want to verify whether the call could have been genuine, wait a few minutes (scammers sometimes stay on the line), then call the company using the number on a recent bill or the official website never the number the caller gave you.
On a suspicious email or text: Don’t click any links. Don’t download any attachments. Don’t reply. If it claims to be from Ofgem or a government body, it almost certainly isn’t but you can verify by going to the official website directly in a new browser window.
At the door: You’re entirely within your rights to ask for identification and refuse entry. Ask for the visitor’s name, company, and purpose, and tell them you’ll verify this independently before letting them proceed. Any genuine representative will understand this completely and will not pressure you.
If you’ve already given over information: Act fast. The sooner you move, the better the chance of limiting the damage.
What to Do if You’ve Already Been Scammed
First: don’t beat yourself up. These scams are professionally designed to circumvent normal judgement. They work on people every day including people who knew about them. What matters now is acting quickly.
Contact your bank immediately. If you’ve shared any financial details or made any payment, call your bank’s fraud line as soon as possible. Most major UK banks have 24-hour fraud lines. If you’ve disclosed any financial details, contacting your bank immediately is the critical first step. Ask them to freeze any affected accounts and investigate any unauthorised transactions.
Report to Action Fraud. Call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use their online reporting form at actionfraud.police.uk. Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. They won’t be able to get your money back directly, but reporting is important it helps build the intelligence picture that leads to prosecutions and protects others.
Report suspicious emails to the National Cyber Security Centre. Forward suspicious emails to [email protected] and suspicious text messages to 7726 7726 is a free service for reporting scam texts that works across all UK mobile networks.
If you’re in Scotland: Call Police Scotland on 101 rather than Action Fraud. You can also contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000.
Tell Ofgem. After reporting to Action Fraud or Police Scotland, you can also notify Ofgem by email or by calling 020 7901 7295. This is particularly useful if the scam impersonated Ofgem itself.
Contact Citizens Advice. The Citizens Advice consumer helpline can provide guidance on your rights and next steps, particularly if you’ve signed up for something under false pretences and want to know how to get out of it.
Report to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service. The National Cyber Security Centre runs a service at [email protected] where you can forward any suspicious email you receive including energy scam messages.
Protecting Yourself Going Forward: A Practical Prevention Plan
Understanding scams after the fact is useful. Building active habits that prevent them is better.
Register with the Telephone Preference Service
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) lets you opt out of unsolicited marketing calls. It won’t stop all cold calls scammers by definition ignore the register but it reduces overall volume and means any cold calls you do receive are more obviously suspicious. Register at tpsonline.org.uk.
Set Up a Password with Your Energy Supplier
Call your energy supplier and ask to set up a home visit password. This is a word or phrase that any genuine representative from your supplier will provide when they come to your door. If the visitor can’t say the password, they’re not who they claim to be. This service is offered by most major UK suppliers and is completely free to set up.
Check the Ofgem Register Before Switching
Before switching energy supplier through any route, verify that the company is properly licensed. You can check this through Ofgem’s register of licensed energy suppliers. If a company isn’t on that register, you should not be giving them your business or your data.
Use the Ofgem Confidence Code for Comparisons
When using energy comparison websites, look for the Ofgem Confidence Code accreditation. This indicates the site has signed up to best practice standards for fair, unbiased comparisons.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication on Your Online Accounts
Your online energy account is a valuable target. Scammers who gain access to it can see your personal details, change payment information, and use the data to make future scam attempts more convincing. Enabling two-factor authentication on any account associated with your energy means a stolen password alone isn’t enough to get in.
Be Cautious About What You Share on Social Media
Scammers often harvest publicly available information before making contact your name, rough location, and any mention of issues with your energy supplier or bills. Venting about your energy supplier on social media can signal to scammers that you’re a potentially receptive target.
Talk to Vulnerable People in Your Life
The best defence against doorstep scams in particular is having a trusted person to call. If you have elderly relatives or neighbours who live alone, make sure they know they can ring you before letting anyone in or making any decisions. Even a simple conversation “if anyone ever comes to your door about your energy, just call me first” can make a real difference.
How to Access Genuine Energy Support in 2026
Part of why energy scams work so well is that many people are genuinely entitled to help but don’t know how to access it legitimately. Here’s a brief breakdown of the real schemes and where to find them.
ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation Scheme 4): Provides fully funded improvements insulation, heat pumps, boiler upgrades for low-income and vulnerable households. Applications should be made through your energy supplier or through a local authority-approved route. Find more information at GOV.UK ECO4.
Great British Insulation Scheme: Offers free insulation measures to reduce heat loss and lower bills. Eligible households can access cavity wall insulation, external or internal wall insulation, and roof insulation, among other measures. Check eligibility at GOV.UK GBIS.
Warm Home Discount: A reduction applied directly to electricity bills for eligible lower-income households. As noted, if you’re eligible you’ll hear about it by post not by text, and not by cold call.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme: Provides grants to help homes in England and Wales switch from old boilers to heat pumps or biomass boilers. More information at the Ofgem Boiler Upgrade Scheme page.
Home Energy Scotland: If you’re in Scotland, Home Energy Scotland offers free, impartial advice on energy efficiency and available schemes, and works closely with Trading Standards Scotland to help householders avoid scams.
Nest (Wales): For households in Wales, Nest provides free, impartial advice on energy efficiency, benefit entitlement, and more.
If someone approaches you claiming you qualify for any of these schemes, take time to verify independently before agreeing to anything. These schemes are real which is exactly why they’re being exploited. Legitimate providers will give you space to do your own research.
The Digital Scam Landscape: What’s Changed in 2026
A note on how the technology has changed the game, because it’s worth being honest about this. The scam calls and messages of five years ago often had obvious tells poor grammar, generic greetings, awkward phrasing. Many still do. But a growing proportion don’t.
AI-generated voice technology has made phone scams considerably more convincing. A voice that sounds remarkably like a professional customer service representative, with a perfectly paced delivery and no background noise, is no longer a sign of legitimacy. Scammers have access to this technology too.
Cloned websites have similarly become more sophisticated. A site that perfectly replicates the Ofgem homepage, down to the font weight and spacing, now takes a scammer minutes to create rather than days. The only reliable check is the URL make sure you’re on ofgem.gov.uk, not ofgem-uk.com or ofgem.support or any other variation.
AI is also being used to personalise scam approaches at scale. Data from previous breaches can be fed into systems that generate individualised phishing messages using your name, your supplier’s name, your approximate area, your meter type. The personal touch that once signalled a genuine caller can now be manufactured.
This doesn’t mean you should be paralysed. It means your first response to any unexpected energy-related contact should be to slow down and verify through independent channels, rather than trusting the presentation of the contact itself.
A Word on Energy Theft vs. Energy Scams
There’s an important distinction that sometimes gets confused. Energy scams are fraud perpetrated against you by someone else. Energy theft is something different it involves tampering with your meter or supply to avoid paying for energy you’re using.
Changing your meter to reduce bills is illegal, regardless of whether you do it yourself or someone does it on your behalf, and only a qualified, accredited meter installer can legally carry out any work on a meter. Scammers sometimes offer to carry out this “service” for a fee, presenting it as legitimate. It isn’t. It’s a criminal offence and you, not the scammer, may end up facing the consequences.
If you’re struggling to pay your energy bills and are considering extreme options, please explore the legitimate support available first. Citizens Advice has detailed guidance on debt support, and the government’s Help for Households page covers the full range of available assistance.
Reporting Scams
Because this information is genuinely useful to have somewhere findable:
Action Fraud UK’s national fraud reporting centre Phone: 0300 123 2040 Website: actionfraud.police.uk
Ofgem Energy regulator Email reports after Action Fraud notification Phone: 020 7901 7295 Website: ofgem.gov.uk
Suspicious emails Report to: [email protected]
Suspicious text messages Forward to: 7726 (free, works on all networks)
Citizens Advice Consumer support and guidance Phone: 0808 223 1133 Website: citizensadvice.org.uk
National Cyber Security Centre For cyber-related fraud Website: ncsc.gov.uk
Stay Energy Safe For energy theft reporting Website: stayenergysafe.co.uk
Telephone Preference Service Opt out of cold calls Website: tpsonline.org.uk
TrustMark Find certified energy efficiency installers Website: trustmark.org.uk
Take Five National campaign on fraud prevention Website: takefive-stopfraud.org.uk
The energy sector is, unfortunately, fertile ground for fraud and it will likely remain so for as long as bills are high and government schemes are active. That’s not going to change any time soon.
But here’s what has to be said clearly: these scams succeed because they’re sophisticated, not because their victims are foolish. The people who fall for energy scams include doctors, teachers, retired professionals, and everyone in between. They succeed because they’re designed to overwhelm normal caution at exactly the right moment.
The best protection is information knowing what these scams look like, knowing the questions to ask, and knowing where to turn if something goes wrong. Share what you know with people in your life. Check in with older relatives about doorstep visits. Make it normal to pause and verify before acting on anything unexpected.
If you want to stay updated as scam tactics evolve, bookmark Which?’s scam alerts and sign up to the Citizens Advice consumer newsletter. Being informed is genuinely the best thing you can do.
Energy scams are serious. But with the right knowledge and habits, they’re avoidable.