The latest phishing scam — 'Claim your energy rebate'

Scammers capitalize on trends and news headlines and, unfortunately, it's working.

According to The Guardian, victims of online fraud lost more than £1.3 billion last year. Push payment fraud—where a scammer pretends to be a trusted source to receive personal details—has also risen by 40%.

The latest trick are phishing texts and emails to "claim your latest energy rebate" in light of the average bill set to increase by 80% this autumn. Eligible households can receive a £400 grant from the UK Government and this hook is turning into a haven for scammers, according to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

These texts or emails link to an official-looking web page prompting victims to enter their bank account details and other personal information. More than £2.18 million was stolen this way last year.

What is phishing?

Fake emails, social media posts, phone calls, or text messages that lure people into clicking on a bad link or downloading a malicious attachment.

Email enables scammers to reach many people with little effort via mass campaigns. Email attacks can also install malware, sabotage systems, or hack and steal sensitive information.

5 ways to detect a phishing email

1. Urgent or threatening tone: Scammers want to trigger a knee-jerk response. Don't think, click here, download this.

2. Unknown email address: If you've never received an email from this address before, double-check the address and don't click anything.

3. Bizarre email address: A legitimate businesses email address includes the name of the organisation and its domain name. Emails from mainsteam providers such as Gmail or Yahoo or that contain numbers where letters should be (e.g., Micr0soft) are definite red flags.

4. Dear Sir/Madam: Legitimate businesses always use correct personal details for correspondence and marketing. If your name is not used in the greeting, be wary.

5. Bad grammar & spelling: Most businesses have dedicated marketing and communications teams. Persistent mistakes may indicate the text was translated from a foreign language, sometimes automatically.

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