FREE GIFT OFFERS

In recent weeks, there have been an increasing number of Emails, claiming to be from major retailers, that are landing in consumer’s Inboxes and telling the recipient that they are about to receive a free gift.

These Emails can look very convincing, with logos and images to reassure the recipient they are genuine. Is that offer of a “free Afternoon Tea Letterbox Hamper” too good to be true?

The short answer is usually “Yes” so how do you check if the offer is really genuine?

First of all, you can check the sender’s email address at the top of the email, which will bear no relationship to the genuine email address for that company. The email may also just address you generically rather than by name.

Also look for spelling and grammatical errors, blurred images and logos which have been copied into the email to make them look genuine. The message will also have a sense of urgency saying you must act quickly – limited time only.

There will usually be a clickable link to take you to the next stage. However, you must never be tempted to click that link as it will only lead you to a malicious website that will ask for your personal and financial details to defraud you now or later. These details can may also be passed on to other criminals.

So these are just another example of criminals using phishing emails to trap the unwary, and should be reported by forwarding that email to report@phishing.gov.uk

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please feel free to share this information with any family, friends, or neighbours that you think it may be able to assist

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you’ve fallen for fraud

Report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via actionfraud.police.uk

Fake Text messages can be forwarded to 7726 to help phone providers take prompt action and block numbers that generate spam on their networks. You can also report fraudulent mobile calls by texting 7726 with the word “Call” followed by the fraudster’s phone number.

Forward Fake Emails received to report@phishing.gov.uk

If you think your bank account or personal banking details have been used fraudulently, then use the short phone number - 159 - to contact the Fraud Prevention Department of most major UK banks.