Currys shoppers have been warned to be on the lookout for a scam email in their inboxes as it could be used to steal their personal data. An email which looks as though it's from the tech retailer has been circulating at the moment, promising customers that they can get their hands on a free Smeg kettle if they complete a survey.
These stylish kettles can be worth up to £189, so a free one sounds like an unmissable deal. However it appears it's too good to be true, as the survey will ask you to enter your card details, giving them straight to potential hackers.
Wales Online reports that card payment provider Dojo is now telling shoppers to remain vigilant for this phishing scam as it hasn't actually come from Currys, but instead hackers posing as the store online. On the actual Currys website, a Smeg kettle can cost up to £189., while a mini kettle costs in excess of £67.
Dojo says the scam follows the same design and templates of other phishing emails it has seen. Previously fraudsters have posed as Argos and offered out free air fryers to people filling out surveys.
These scams are starting to target consumers daily, with some consumers receiving the same scam multiple times a week. While at first, it may look legitimate with branding, there are numerous red flags that consumers should be aware of.
Firstly, the website address and email aren’t coming from Currys’ official domain, and the currency is in dollars. There is also a timer that warns the offer will disappear, to add time pressure on victims to encourage them to fill out the survey and input personal details.
Having acquired the stolen card details, scammers are then using them to make lavish online purchases and empty bank accounts. This causes a huge financial and psychological impact on victims.
Naveed Islam, Chief Information Security Officer, at Dojo, provided this advice to people who have received similar texts or emails: “A key warning sign for a scam is to entice consumers with free items that are just too good to be true. Quite often, these offers will be time-limited to cause extra pressure on victims to enter their payment card or bank details without necessarily double-checking the legitimacy of the offer, and this is what we can see in this scam.
"With the scam impersonating well-known retailers like Currys, consumers should be extremely vigilant with any offers that they see in their inbox or on social media. If you have fallen victim to a scam, contact your bank immediately to suspend your card and account. Your bank or building society will then be able to provide specialist support from their scam unit."
A spokesperson from Currys said: “I can confirm that these phishing emails were not sent by us, and appear to be part of a fraudulent operation where criminals are using household brand names such as Currys, to defraud members of the public. We are doing all we can to try and stop these scams and would strongly urge members of the public to report any receipt of such emails to Action Fraud, as well as marking them as ‘phishing’ in your inbox.
"Additionally, we also recommend that any members of the public who are concerned by a ‘competition win’ email, text, or phone call, refer to Citizen’s Advice excellent resource for identifying scams. We have robust security measures in place and are continually monitoring our systems for third-party threats or data loss. We also provide all staff with regular training on data security, and would like to assure you we take the security of our customers’ data very seriously.
“Whilst this is largely out of our control, please accept our sincerest apologies for any potential inconvenience or harm caused. If customers are in any doubt about the veracity of an email they receive purporting to be from Currys, we recommend that they take extreme vigilance and get in touch with our customer services teams directly to check the email’s authenticity with a member of the Currys team.”
How to spot a phishing email
You should always consider the below before inputting your card details into any website, clicking on an email or following a text message link:
- Check the sender’s email address
- Check for poor spelling and grammar, or mistakes in the company’s name
- Check the formatting of the email - look out for plain-text emails with no branding or low-resolution logos
- Don’t rush to action their demands
- Never send sensitive data via emails or online links from emails or SMS
- Contact the company implicated
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