For News Posts alerting website Subscribers to possible local Scams.

SCAMS – phone calls & more…

Number spoofing

Scammers can ‘spoof’ the phone number they’re calling from, so the number showing on your Caller ID may not be the number the call is being made from.

Recently a Westbury resident received two calls which appeared to be from local 01749 numbers – but they weren’t. So be careful, even if the number shown looks like it may be someone you know.

 

Energy rebate scams

More information about the current flurry of energy rebate scams:

which.co.uk/email-scam-offers-fake-energy-refunds-arlt41l9JRwj?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=scam_alert&utm_content=Scam+Alert+250822+A

 

and a reminder…

Which? offers free email updates on scams; if you haven’t already signed up for these, here’s the link:

https://act.which.co.uk/page/103781/data/1

SCAM emails and texts – energy bill rebates

Watch out for emails offering rebates or grants towards fuel costs – although many are easy to spot, some scammers will go to the trouble of creating highly realistic emails and text messages.

One of a number active at the moment claims to come from Ofgem, but the email address ends in .ro which shows that it probably comes from Romania. All Ofgem emails always end @ofgem.gov.uk

The red “Claim your rebate now” button in this scam email doesn’t go to Ofgem, but to a completely different site which will doubtless ask for your personal and bank details so they can ‘send you the rebate’ – of course they won’t.

Scammers won’t just fake Ofgem emails, they might make them appear to come from a local council or a government department, so do be careful.

This webpage tells you how to avoid and report Ofgem scams:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/avoid-and-report-energy-scams