Beware of “British Gas” refund notifications

Over the weekend Scam Detectives HQ received an email from “info@britishgas.co.uk” advising us that we were due a refund of £732.80.

Refund Notification

After the last annual calculation of your gas and electricity activity, we have determined that you are eligible to receive a refund of 732.80 GBP. Please submit the refund request and allow us 5-7 days in order to process it.

Please fax the following 2 documents in order to have us process your request.

- Provide a legible, colour, digital photograph or scan of both sides of your government-issued ID (e.g. driver’s permit or passport).

- Name and Address

- Town/City, County and Postal code

Please send us the documents by fax at : +44 (0)117 315 0456

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.
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® British Gas 2011. All rights reserved.

All we have to do to claim it is send copies of our ID by fax.

What’s the scam?

There is no refund (we’re not even British Gas customers) and this appears to be a clumsy attempt at identity theft.

With your driving licence number, your name and address, the scammers have all they need to create a forged driving licence or passport which will pass rudimentary examination by police at the roadside.

What should you do with the email?

As with all emails that purport to come from an organisation with whom you have a financial relationship, you should ignore it and hit delete.

What is Scam Detectives doing about it?

We have spoken to British Gas who have confirmed that they are investigating the email and have passed the details to our local police e-crime coordinator.

Tags: British Gas, ID Theft