Warning over email scam
SCAM: Thomas Barlow with a copy of the email
PEOPLE have been warned to be on their guard against an email scam.
It comes after Hartlepool man Thomas Barlow received an email claiming to be from Tesco Bank informing him that his email address had been randomly selected and he was one of the winners of a £2,000 Christmas gift voucher giveaway.
The 60-year-old was immediately suspicious as he does not bank with Tesco, although he is part of the supermarket chain’s Clubcard scheme.
The email asked the married dad-of-four to activate the voucher by clicking on a link and following the instructions.
Mr Barlow didn’t do that but did respond to the email asking for more information.
The email bounced back and he contacted the Mail to make sure nobody was caught out by the scam.
A spokeswoman for Tesco Bank confirmed that it was not a genuine email or promotion and asked customers who do receive them to forward the email so it can be investigated.
Retired Mr Barlow, who used to work for Rolls-Royce, received the email on December 21:
It said: “Dear Tesco customer:
“Congratulations! Your email address has been randomly selected as one of the winners of our 2,000 pounds Christmas gift voucher.
“To claim your voucher please activate by clicking on the link.
“Please note that inaccurate information makes the activation void.
“Voucher will be sent to you by post an email notification will also be sent.”
Mr Barlow, of Dobson Place, said: “I don’t bank with Tesco so I was immediately suspicious.
“We have Tesco Clubcards, so that is why I thought they would have our email address but when I responded it bounced straight back saying unknown recipient.
“I wanted to warn people, especially older people, not to be conned by it.”
A spokeswoman for Tesco Bank said: “This is not a genuine email or promotion from us. Customers who receive any emails that appear suspicious should forward them to phishing@tescobank.com so that they can be investigated and any illegal sites can be shut down.”
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Saturday 18 May 2013
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