PEOPLE in Ealing buying top-ups for their electricity meters are being scammed by criminal gangs, a report has found.

A staggering 1,800 incidents have been reported to the police by people in Ealing who have had to pay twice for their electricity after buying cut-price energy cards from fraudsters.

Police are concerned that the criminals have to gain entry into people's homes for them to obtain the fake tops-ups and many customers have reported falling victim to threatening behaviour.

According to the report by Energy UK, the number of scams operating in the borough ranks Ealing 26th in the whole of England and 17th in London.

Police are urging people to only buy their electricity meter top-ups from official PayPoint and Payzone retailers and Post Offices to avoid being charged twice after being conned.

Head of energy at Consumer Focus Audrey Gallacher said: "It is very worrying that the number of people affected by this scam continues to rise.

"Consumers should beware of anyone selling electricity credit on their doorstep.

"Thousands of hard-pressed

households have already found their hard-earned cash ending up lining the pockets of criminals, instead of paying for their energy. Any customer worried that they may have been affected should call their energy supplier or Consumer Direct to seek advice."

The Borough of Enfield ranked the highest with 8,900 incidents, second was Haringey with 6,750 and Barking and Dagenham came in third with 5,200 incidents. **Visit www.top-upsafe.com, call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to find out more.