Sales through home delivery have been banned in Ontario since March 2018, but this has not stopped active salespeople from offering expensive long-term lease contracts for items like furnaces and air conditioners, as the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) said these scammers are now impersonating its employees.

Harnet Panesar, Chief Operating Officer at OEB, told CTV News Toronto: "We know there are some bad actors using our logos either to impersonate us or to try to lend credibility to the scams they are running."

According to Panesar, scammers pretend to be with the OEB and offer free government discounts that do not exist. Once inside, the scammer will try to convince the homeowner to sign long-term lease agreements for furnaces, air conditioners, air purification systems, water heaters, water filters, water purifiers, or insulation.

Also, the OEB said scammers also send text messages containing links promising money, threaten to cut off energy, and request large payments.