With phone and broadband bills set to increase in April, an urgent warning has been issued to customers who are vulnerable to being targetted.
A great many fraudsters are taking advantage of consumers with 'too good to miss' offers that are, in fact, scams.
With this, information security experts have issued an important warning to those most at risk of being duped by these convincing messages.
The experts over at Dojo have advised people to be extra vigilant as Google searches for "phone contract scam" have increased by more than 214% in the last month.
Experts reveal the most recent phishing scam to target UK phone customers
The most recent phone bill scam uses a series of legitimate-looking emails, texts and social media posts, letting customers know they can benefit from reduced bills as part of a new contract.
The scam then asks for the user's credit or debit card details to receive the discounted bill but once this is acquired, the scammers then empty the account.
This scam comes amid a phone price hike, in which contracts will rise in line with inflation from April 1 with big brands like Virgin Mobile and O2 seeing increases of around 17% while others like BT see rises of 14%.
Despite this, experts have revealed ways of spotting phishing scams.
How to spot a phishing email as customers warned over phone bill scams
Here are some tell-tale signs of a phishing scam:
1. Check the sender’s email address
Often, scammers will use suspicious email addresses with words unrelated to the company they are 'representing'.
2. Check for poor spelling and grammar, or mistakes in the company’s name
While some emails are very sophisticated, many of them are poorly worded and composed.
3. Check the formatting of the email
Most legitimate emails are highly branded and formatted, making it difficult for scammers to replicate.
If you see a plain-text email with no branding or a branded logo with low resolution, then it is likely a scam.
4. Don’t rush to action
Scammers will sometimes create a sense of urgency to panic the recipient into acting rashly.
Whether it's clicking a suspicious link or providing personal data, users should review emails carefully.
5. Never send sensitive data
If you suspect you've been sent a phishing email, don't click on it or try and open it all.
Scammers can leave malicious links in these that when clicked allow them to enter your computer's system.
If you click on these by accident, you should change your passwords immediately and alert your bank.
If you do this on a work email, you should contact the relevant department to deal with the issue.
6. Contact the company implicated
If you are really unsure, try directly contacting the company the email claims to be from.
They will let you know if the communication is legitimate, you can do this by phoning the brand.
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