Forty-five homeowners and business operators in Malaysia are facing power bills totaling $1.9 million after discovering their identities had been stolen by tenants who used them to mine Bitcoin illegally.
According to a local news report on Friday, the victims expressed frustration during a press conference, explaining that they were unaware of the illegal activities until receiving bills from the local utility company, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), amounting to 8.5 million Malaysian ringgit (RM).
Power theft for Bitcoin mining has become a significant issue in Malaysia, prompting multiple police crackdowns in recent years. In August, Malaysian police destroyed 985 Bitcoin mining rigs that were confiscated in a power theft crackdown operation.
The news report outlined how tenants used fake identities to rent residential and commercial properties from landlords, then impersonated the landlords’ identities to open utility accounts with TNB. Once the accounts were active, the tenants allegedly mined Bitcoin at the landlords’ expense, leaving them with substantial unpaid bills.
One businessman shared his experience of discovering that 10 TNB accounts had been registered under his company’s name using forged documents from the Companies Commission of Malaysia. These accounts accumulated RM700,000 in unpaid bills, which is approximately $155,555.
In response to the growing number of such cases, a local legislator attending the press conference called for TNB to establish a task force to investigate these fraudulent activities before forcing victims to pay. The legislator also expressed his intention to raise the issue in Parliament and proposed amendments to the Electricity Supply Act 1990, aimed at strengthening enforcement against fraud and improving the customer verification process.
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