I would like to inform you of fraudulent activity happening on behalf of Efficiency Nova Scotia.
Efficiency Nova Scotia has been alerted to a number of customers receiving calls from companies misrepresenting themselves as Efficiency Nova Scotia. These callers are attempting to sign customers up for programs, providing next day appointments, financing for equipment, and requesting sensitive information such as identification or void cheques. The callers are not from any company affiliated with Efficiency Nova Scotia and they have been logging cases received over the past two weeks to further investigate.
From the customer calls they have received, these scammers do not provide any company name, come from a wide variety of phone numbers, and have some information about the homeowner – such as name and address. Efficiency Nova Scotia has been taking steps to ensure customers are aware. They are also alerting both the RCMP and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Efficiency Nova Scotia has also been monitoring several companies operating in the province who have been using strong/aggressive sales tactics to sign homeowners up for our Moderate Income Program or to encourage HomeWarming applications currently in the program stream to switch to the Moderate Income Program. It appears they are making efforts to find a way around Efficiency Nova Scotia’s processes and this causes confusion for customers.
They also see customers signing up for financing with these companies without guaranteeing if they will receive rebates to cover costs. All customers looking to go through the Moderate Income Program must first apply on their own for pre-approval. Once they have received pre-approval they able to schedule their free home energy assessment and begin the process of having upgrades completed. Following pre-approval to the program, Efficiency Nova Scotia encourages all customers to obtain at least 3 quotes before completing any work.
Please note: These 3rd party companies are not able to apply on behalf of a customer, and are not permitted to complete the assessment outside of the program process.
I wanted to make you all aware and hopefully spread the word to a wider audience. If you suspect fraud, please visit Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca). The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre collects information on fraud and identity theft. You can find information on past and current scams affecting Canadians. If you think you’re a victim of fraud, report it!