Consumer watchdog Which? has issued a warning to British Gas customers about a phishing email that offers a £22.45 refund. The email, which carries an accurate British Gas logo, urges recipients to click a link to 'submit a refund request', but the message did not come from British Gas.
The link leads to a website designed to look like British Gas, where personal details are compromised as they are typed. Recipients are urged not to click the link and instead report and delete the email.
How to Spot the Scam
British Gas says scam emails can often seem legitimate and sophisticated, so extra caution is important. Emails that genuinely come from British Gas will contain the customer's name and will be sent from a list of internal email addresses and third-party domains, which can be found on its website.
If British Gas emails a customer about their account, it will include their customer reference number. The company says it will rarely ask customers to update or confirm personal details, but may ask for some information when they enter its competitions.
Reporting and Staying Safe
British Gas says it will never start an email with 'Dear customers' or 'Hello' followed by an email address. Scam emails sometimes also have poor design, typos or bad spelling and grammar. Emails from British Gas will never come from public domains like Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail. "The most important thing to be wary of is website links," British Gas adds.
Scam emails should be reported by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk. Scam websites can be reported online to the National Cyber Security Centre.
Other Scams Circulating
Which? has listed several other scams currently circulating in the UK, warning that scammers are looking to capitalise on government energy assistance measures announced in the recent Autumn Budget. "In its Budget, the government has announced a £100 Household Energy Payment for 20 million households in council tax bands A to D," the consumer watchdog said.
"Previously, Which? has reported on scam emails and texts attempting to capitalise on energy support announcements. These scams have said that you're entitled to hundreds of pounds to support with energy costs and have led to phishing websites designed to look like the official government site. The £100 will be paid directly into your bank account if you are eligible."
