The British Gas scam is the latest attempt of the scammers to collect some money from the users through email intentionally.
According to the reports, the hackers sent a bogus email to the customers, saying they could get refunds for paying energy bills from last year.
In case you receive this kind of message, the experts said that you should refrain from clicking it or else the attackers could potentially steal your personal information.
British Gas Email Scam
Based on the latest report by Express, Gmail and Hotmail users should be careful in reading emails in their inboxes, especially with the ongoing British Gas scam.
In case you encounter a fishy message that mentions a potential refund for your previous bill, you don't need to be in a hurry to tap it.
Pay attention to the content of the email. The news site wrote that the attackers are delivering suspicious emails that might appear to have come from the legit British Gas company.
The fake site tells the users to enter their personal information so they could be eligible to claim the money.
Once you do this procedure, you are already at the peak of being scammed. Particularly, hackers can now gain access to your confidential data, such as bank account numbers and passwords.
To make it more believable, the scammers have used the official logo of British Gas. You will also notice that its branding does not stray away from the usual branding that you see from the real energy provider in the UK.
"British Gas wants to inform you that you are eligible for a payment refund. Our records indicate that you have paid more than you should have for your British Gas service from 2020 - 2021," the malicious email reads.
Following this statement, the scammers also indicated that the overpaid amount for the energy bill would be refunded shortly.
The refund email scam also features a "claim your refund now" button. When you tap this one, you will be directed to a make-shift website of British Gas.
Of course, some people who do not pay attention to the site might be easily deceived by this false promise. Instead of getting a £315 refund, you are putting your confidential details at a huge risk of being stolen.
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How to Dodge the British Gas Refund Scam?
York Press suggests that if you see the email from scammers impersonating British Gas, you do not need to click the link.
What you should do is relay your concern to the legit British Gas company. You can reach them through this link for more information. You can also forward the fishy emails to phishing@centrica.com.
To avoid the potential scams from harming you, here's what you need to do:
- Stay away from strangers or messages asking for your personal or monetary details.
- Always check if the details of the sender are suspicious or not.
- Be keen on looking for grammatical errors in the email. Usually, scammers do not pay attention to grammar and syntax.
- If you see an emergency email, be careful in clicking it. Analyze the message first before replying.
- If you're still doubtful about the sent email, check the official website of the company online to see if the contact details match or not.
Always remember: if the message is sweet-sounding or too-good-to-be-true, it's most likely a scam. As much as possible, stay away from this bogus attempt so you won't lose your valuable information.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry