Utility fraud runs on pressure and your name: disconnection threats, refund baits, contract-switch cons. Hongi makes “this is your energy supplier” something a caller can prove.
The fake utility call is built on a threat with a deadline: pay this invoice within the hour or the power goes off. It targets exactly the customers least equipped to check — older people, non-native speakers, anyone frightened of losing heating in winter. The refund variant inverts the bait: you are owed money, just confirm your card.
Every successful case erodes something you need operationally: the ability to reach your own customers. Genuine calls about meter replacements, contract renewals and payment plans go unanswered because your number has been cried wolf with.
Education campaigns say “we will never threaten disconnection by phone”. True, necessary — and not verifiable by the customer standing in their kitchen with a ringing phone.
The free app works today: before paying under threat, a customer checks with a paired family member. A recommendation you can print on every invoice without building anything.
Apply, prove control of your domain, pass an editorial review. Your signed entry ships in every Hongi app, and customers pair with the real you.
On-device caller-ID for your verified numbers, and live agent verification for sensitive calls like payment plans. Co-designed with pilot utilities.
The customer facing a disconnection threat gets a way out of the pressure: verify, or hang up. A real call from you shows your name and a verify action; the scammer’s call shows nothing. For vulnerable customers especially, that single button replaces a judgment call they were never equipped to make.
We map one flow — customer protection, directory, or caller-ID — and scope a free 90-day pilot with metrics agreed up front.