It looks genuine … but don’t fall for this BT email scam

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jan/14/bt-scam-email-warning-pay-bill

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I’d like to make you and your readers aware of a scam email I fell for. It claimed to be from BT and evaded my spam filter to arrive in my Yahoo email account. It stated that my bank card held on its records had failed, and that I needed to pay my BT bill or face losing my internet connection.

Having changed bank account recently and being in a hurry – I didn’t look at it properly – I logged on to what I thought was my BT account and input my card details. Fortunately, I realised something was not quite right and was able to cancel my bank card before anything bad happened.

I feel you should make others aware of this, in the hope they don’t fall for it. SP, London

Just as the East Coast email looked like a scam, this email from BT looked genuine – but was anything but.

These two letters highlight the difficulties consumers face. You sent us the BT email, and it is very convincing. No doubt plenty of others in your shoes found mysterious payments disappearing from their accounts.

Ultimately, online customers need to be very wary of any email from a company that has a live link to your account. Such links have allowed scammers to gain access to all sorts of accounts and are proving successful for those committing frauds of differing types.

Instead, go to your web browser and log into your account in the normal way – particularly if you are asked to make a payment of any sort.

Genuine emails from banks, utility firms etc will usually be addressed to you by name – with other information such as a postcode. If it simply says Dear member/customer, be on your guard.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number