Calls for a crack down on dangerous tamper tutorials

Echo Managed Services and it's wholly owned subsidiary Grosvenor Services Group are calling on social media giants to do more to monitor and remove ‘how to’ videos that provide dangerous advice on how people can illegally tamper their energy meters to reduce bills.

94,700 YouTube results were returned under the search term; “how to hack your energy meter” some of which had millions of views.

Meter cheating causes at least one death or injury every 10 days in the UK but safety warnings were absent from almost all of the tutorial videos we investigated on the streaming site.

Many of the most-viewed videos claim their method is “legal” or, because it doesn’t stop the meter altogether (just slow it down), it was non-punishable or invisible to authorities. This is highly misleading to UK viewers, where any form of meter tampering is illegal and can lead to five years in prison.

Some comments within the videos also advertise a paid-for tamper service. This is a real-life practice whereby “professional” meter thieves target vulnerable families, visiting them door-to-door, and interfere with their meter for a – sometimes very large – fee, on the promise of cheaper energy bills.

Even one incident of meter tampering can leave unsafe gas and electrical supplies, which can cause electric shocks, fires and even explosions. However, the online comments analysed did not provide any details of how meter cheating can put households and communities at risk.

This is highly concerning given that our recent research found 39% of billpayers are completely unaware of the public safety threat caused by meter tampering. This group could be easily influenced by the offer of cheaper energy fees, as they simply do not understand the potential consequences.

Current statistics show that 150,000 cases of energy theft are investigated annually in the UK, but only around 1,500 people are charged. We must therefore come together to prevent and prosecute. Closer links between the government, social media companies, energy suppliers and police could improve these figures. We need to show energy thieves how seriously their actions can impact innocent lives, as well as the tough sanctions they will face when prosecuted.