A new scam is catching people out across the UK. With rising energy prices people are looking for any help they can get, unfortunately this means scammers have found a new way to get money from people. They have become masters of sending out completely authentic looking texts, telling people to click on a link, which takes them to an authentic looking Ofgem website, where users are encouraged to fill in a form to set up a direct debit to receive support payments. Sounds perfectly innocent, right? Somewhat essential for our homes and business premises right now?
Over 1,500 reports have been sent to the National Fraud Intelligence bureau about scams purporting to be from Ofgem. Cifas, the fraud protection agency, is warning members of the public to be vigilant of emails related to getting money related to rising energy costs.
Tips to beat the scammers:
- If you have any doubts about a message, contact the organisation directly
- Don’t use the numbers or address in the message, use the details from their official website
- Your bank or any other official source will never ask you to supply personal information via email
- If you have received an email which you’re not quite sure about, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk
If you would like some additional help in regards to your online security, contact us today to discuss how we may help.
