The UK’s national fraud and cyber reporting centre has warned people to be aware of a fake email scam offering the chance to win supermarket vouchers. Action Fraud UK shared an image on Twitter on Tuesday (October 25) showing a fake email telling the recipient they are in a draw for a gift card from Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Morrisons.
The organisation says it has received 277 reports of the scam in one week. The fake email says: “With this email, it is our pleasure to inform you about being one of our possible winners of £1000!
"We are happy to inform you that you are one of 3 people in the final draw for a £1000 gift card from Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Morrisons.”
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The email then encourages people to confirm their details by clicking the ‘Register now’ button. The link leads to a phishing website designed to steal the victim’s personal information.
If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of an email or text message, Action Fraud advise to contact the organisation directly – in this case, one of the three supermarkets mentioned in the email. Do not use the numbers or address in the message, rather use the details from their official website.
They also reminded consumers that your bank will never ask you to supply information via email. Recipients of the fake email are advised to forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk.
This is the latest in a series of scams designed to steal a person’s information with fake emails or text messages by ‘phishing’, a type of scam where fraudsters send a fake message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information or allowing malicious software to be deployed on their device. Last week, consumer rights group Which? warned anyone with an Amazon account to be aware of fake text messages which appear to be from Amazon advising recipients to secure their account following an “attempted log in.”
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