Energy Bill Scams

Energy Made Easy, the Australian Energy Regulator's consumer site, describes the core move plainly: scammers pretend to be a well-known company such as an energy retailer, and threaten to disconnect you or take you to court if you don't pay. The modern versions are built to survive a quick glance. A text arrives addressed to you by first name, says your account is overdue by a specific amount, and then adds a line lifted from genuine hardship messaging, such as an offer of a payment plan or extension if you're struggling. That wording is real: under the National Energy Retail Law, retailers must assist customers who are having payment difficulties, which is exactly why a scammer copies it. The text ends with a 1300 callback number or a short link, and whoever answers takes your card details for the 'overdue' amount or a 'first instalment'. Other variants dangle a refund, credit or government rebate you must 'claim' through a link, warn that your rates are about to rise unless you confirm your details, or skip the text and call you directly. None of the surface details proves the sender. Names, numbers and even account details leak in data breaches; scam texts can be sent through legitimate bulk-messaging services and link shorteners, or point to old or hijacked websites, so a link on a real, established domain doesn't show who sent it. Some retailers do genuinely text customers about their accounts, so the useful test is not whether a message arrived by SMS but what it asks you to do. The safe move never changes: check the balance yourself in your retailer's app or online account, or call the number printed on a real bill.

These composed examples show how the scam typically reads, with the tells that give each one away. Compare them against anything you've received.

Any household with an electricity or gas account, which is nearly everyone, so the texts can be sent at random and still reach real customers of the retailer they name. People already worried about a bill are the easiest marks, because an overdue notice that offers a payment plan looks like the help they were hoping for. Customers of a retailer that has had a data breach can receive more convincing versions, since a scammer quoting your real name or address sounds like someone who has your account in front of them.

Energy-bill scams can arrive at any time, but they are most convincing around moments that make a bill message feel timely: price changes, rebate announcements and news about a retailer. Origin Energy, for example, warned customers in 2026 that when a company is in the news for a data or security issue, scammers move fast and send fake emails and texts that reference the real story.

• A link or callback number in the message instead of an invitation to check your account yourself; use your retailer's app or the number printed on a real bill
• Payment-plan, extension or hardship wording attached to a pay-now link or number; under the National Energy Retail Law, retailers must assist customers in payment difficulty, which is why scammers copy the language
• A same-day or next-day disconnection threat; Energy Made Easy, the Australian Energy Regulator's site for NSW, Queensland, SA, Tasmania and the ACT, says a retailer must send a reminder notice and a warning letter, and make a final effort to contact you, before it can disconnect you
• A refund, credit or rebate you must 'claim' through a link
• A request to confirm personal or banking details by replying, to read out a one-time code, or to give card details to a caller you didn't ring
• Your name, address or account details quoted back as proof the message is real; that information leaks in data breaches
• Payment by gift or store cards, iTunes cards, wire transfer or Bitcoin; Energy Made Easy says no trusted business will ask you to pay a bill that way

1. 1If you paid or shared card or bank details, call your bank immediately to block the card and dispute the payment
2. 2Contact your real retailer using the number on a genuine bill or its official website, so it can check and secure your account
3. 3Change the password for your energy account, and anywhere else you reused it
4. 4If you shared identity details such as your date of birth or licence, contact IDCARE (idcare.org) for free identity support
5. 5Report the scam to Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au), and to ReportCyber (cyber.gov.au) if you lost money

Where to report it

• Scamwatch — Report the scam to the ACCC's national scam service.
• ReportCyber — Report cybercrime and financial loss to the police.
• ACMA — Complain about scam texts and spam SMS, email or calls.
• Forward to 7226 (SCAM) — Forward the scam SMS to short code 7226 so carriers can block the source.
• IDCARE — Free identity and cyber support if your details were taken.

• Check any bill in your retailer's app or online account before paying; Energy Made Easy notes that some retailers let you log in and see the official correspondence they've sent you
• Call your retailer on the number printed on a real bill or its official website, not a number in the message; ACMA gives the same advice: find the official contact details yourself, for example on a bill or the organisation's website
• Don't treat a real-looking link as proof: scam texts can be sent through legitimate bulk-messaging services and link shorteners, or point to old or hijacked websites
• Treat 'Unverified' at the top of a text as a reason to slow down, not a verdict; ACMA says it may be a scam or a real business that hasn't registered its sender ID, and texts from ordinary phone numbers aren't covered by the rules at all
• If you're genuinely struggling to pay, call your retailer yourself and ask about a payment plan or its hardship program; Energy Made Easy says that under the National Energy Retail Law, retailers must assist customers who are having payment difficulties
• Forward scam texts to 7226 (spells SCAM), then delete them

Energy-bill scams have moved on from clumsy 'pay now' texts. Some current versions greet you by first name, quote an overdue balance, borrow the payment-plan and extension wording genuine retailers use, and offer a 1300 callback number or a short link on a legitimate bulk-messaging domain, so every surface detail looks right. Retailers are warning customers in public: AGL publishes examples of overdue and 'final warning' texts sent in its name, Alinta Energy has warned about a fake Facebook customer-service account, and Origin has warned that scammers may exploit its 2026 data security incident by impersonating it. Since 1 July 2026, ACMA's SMS Sender ID Register marks texts from unregistered brand names as 'Unverified', which helps but settles nothing on its own. The check that works every time is to open your retailer's app, or call the number on a real bill.

Scammers often impersonate these names in energy bill scams. Here's how to tell a genuine message from a fake:

• AGL
• Origin Energy
• Energy Australia
• ENGIE
• Red Energy
• Alinta Energy

• Ask yourself: is this for real? Be scam aware (Energy Made Easy (Australian Energy Regulator))
• Disconnections (Energy Made Easy (Australian Energy Regulator))
• Having trouble paying your bill? (Energy Made Easy (Australian Energy Regulator))
• Getting text messages from businesses and organisations (Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA))
• Energy Bill Relief Fund (energy.gov.au (Australian Government))
• Recent scam, phishing and fraud alerts (AGL)
• Scams and security threats (Alinta Energy)
• How to tell if a message is a scam or really from Origin (Origin Energy)
• Text or SMS scams (Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre))
• Report a scam (Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre))