Police are investigating 171 reports of £600 energy vouchers being stolen and redeemed without the knowledge of the household they were sent to.
In order to help with rising energy bills, every household in Northern Ireland was provided with a £600 energy support voucher, with some people having the money put straight into their accounts and others needing to redeem the voucher at the Post Office.
When redeeming the voucher, people were meant to provide the Post Office with identification and proof that the person had lived at the address for a number of months.
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However, while the vast majority of vouchers were redeemed without issue, 171 of them have been reported stolen and redeemed without the knowledge of the household.
Cheryl Given's mother, a pensioner who lives at home, was one of the people who reported the theft to police with Cheryl saying she does not understand how it could have happened.
Speaking to Belfast Live, she said: "My mum had been waiting for some time to receive her voucher and when she got in touch with her energy supplier, Electric Ireland, she would need to wait until February 28 for more information.
"When that day arrived she contacted them again and was shocked to hear that her voucher had already been redeemed at the Post Office without her knowledge.
"We cannot understand how this could have happened because we understood that you had to provide ID and proof of address in order to get the money from the voucher, and only my mum should have been able to do this.
"She has since been in touch with the police and been told that the money was apparently deposited into someone's account before it was taken out in cash, but other than that we have been left in the dark about what to do and don't know if she will ever receive the money now."
A PSNI spokesperson said: "To date, we have received 171 reports in which it has been alleged that a £600 energy payment voucher has been redeemed by the wrong person. All reports are investigated in partnership with the Post Office and energy providers to determine if a crime has been committed.
"If you think you’ve been targeted by a scammer and have lost your energy payment voucher, report it to your energy provider immediately. You can also call police on 101, or online at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/."
A Post Office spokesperson said: “There have been 500,000 energy vouchers successfully claimed by households across Northern Ireland. It is for the PSNI to investigate an allegation that a voucher may have been fraudulently claimed. Post Office has, and continues, to support PSNI by providing information which could assist any investigation they may choose to undertake into an allegation of fraud.”
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