Solar email scams have become annoyingly common. The graphic shown was used in many of the emails I received urging me to go solar. I’m a strong proponent of solar as an energy source. What I dislike are the attempts to defraud consumers using the lure of reducing energy bills.
Solar email scam subjects
- Solar Can Pay Your Energy Bills! See If You Qualify for $0 Install
- Super 70% savings when you go solar this summer
- Up To 50% OFF Solar Installation And 70% On Your Electric Bills
Why the solar email scam sounds legitimate
First off, there are real incentive programs to install solar energy. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established a federal tax credit for solar-electric systems, solar water heating systems and fuel cells. The credit was extended and expanded by the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008. The program allows residential consumers to take a tax credit of 30% of qualified expenditures for the installation of solar energy systems “placed in service” prior to December 31, 2016.
In addition to this federal program, there are hundreds of state and local programs that are designed to further reduce the cost of installing solar energy. The North Carolina Solar Center runs the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE). The DSIRE website, which can be found at dsireusa.org, allows consumers to search for available policies and incentives by state.
According to the DSIRE website, California alone has more than 200 policies and programs dealing with renewable energy. With so many legitimate programs available is it any wonder scammers have jumped into the fray?
Why the solar email scam is dangerous
In its current iteration, the email may include the infographic shown here. These emails are intended to redirect visitors to solar-america.net or solaramerica.org. Both sites have received negative reports on Web of Trust, though neither site currently hosts malware or viruses.
In general, these emails leverage legitimate programs and encourage visitors to go solar and save big. There are two factors that make a decision about going solar complex.
- Most industry players want the technology to expand, therefore they make highly optimistic claims about results.
- The solar marketplace is highly volatile at this time, with new players coming in all the time.
What this means is that the crooks in the industry don’t need to make up outrageous claims because the industry is generating its own share of hype. Thus, all a scammer has to do is slap on a deadline to force you into taking quick action.
If you’re interested in installing solar energy, contact the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org to find legitimate contractors in your area. You probably already know that you should never click a link in an unsolicited email. That same advice goes for images in emails. The reason is that images are easily turned into links that will take you anywhere the sender wants you to go—which may well be someplace you don’t want to be.
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