Fighting the Fraudsters

With past reports of bogus callers at customers’ doors and online phishing, we’re helping you to stay safe with our password scheme.

The scheme is designed for when we need to visit your property and you’re not sure if the person at your door is a genuine caller. You can ask us to relay your chosen password to you to confirm it is sincerely us calling at your door. If the person at your door gives you the wrong password or doesn’t know your password, don’t let them in.

We’ll always arrive in a van with our logo on and will be wearing our South East Water clothing with our identification badge. You can also request to use your password as an extra layer of security when you call our contact centre too. In this instance, we’ll ask you to confirm your secret word or phrase to us.

Tanya Sephton, Customer Services Director at South East Water, said: “Unfortunately, these criminals can be very believable and persuasive and use our good nature this time of year. If you have even the slightest bit of doubt as to whether the person at your door is one of our staff or not we urge you to contact us to check."

If you’d like to put a password on your account, please call our Customer Care Team on 0333 000 0123(opens in a new tab). Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am-7pm and Saturday 8am-1pm.

If you have even the slightest bit of doubt as to whether the person at your door is one of our staff or not we urge you to contact us to check.

Other tips to stay safe are:

In the home:

• Register for a South East Water security password and our Priority Services Register on 0333 000 0123(opens in a new tab)
• Make sure the back door is always locked before going to the front door
• Put on the door chain, if there is one, before opening the door
• Check to see who is at the door by looking through a window or spy hole
• Look for an identity card, a uniform and a van with a logo on
• Check the person’s identity via our Customer Service line on 0333 000 1122(opens in a new tab)
• If still suspicious, telephone the police - better to be safe than sorry.

Online:

• Delete suspicious emails immediately
• Install a reputable anti-virus product and keep it up to date
• Ensure all of your devices' operating systems are updated as and when the provider issues updates
• Never reveal usernames or passwords to others
• Use a different password for every online account you have.

For more information on our Bogus Callers helpline and our Priority Services, click here.