Scam Ofgem email lures victims with fake energy refunds

Fraudsters are posing as the energy regulator Ofgem to dupe people into handing over personal and payment details. 

Emails using the Ofgem logo and branding claim to offer an 'energy bill rebate scheme', directing recipients to a fake online portal. There, victims are urged to share personal and payment details in order to claim their refund. 

Find out more about this impersonation scam and how to avoid it. 

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Ofgem energy bill rebate email

The deceptive emails inform you that you can 'get your rebate via the Ofgem portal' by clicking a link that takes you to a fake site. 

Capitalising on the government's cost of living energy measures, the email explains that you claim a £200 discount on energy bills this Autumn and a £500 Council Tax Rebate. It also claims that you have to apply before September.

While this email appears to come from Ofgem, if you examine the sender's email you can see that the address has been spoofed. 

Fake emails we've seen come from:

• info@rebate-ogem.com 
• info@totalsolutions24-7.co.uk
• reservations@expedicar.ro, and 
• info@globalskyward.com.

The link in the email directs you to a fake portal to harvest your details. The fake website - rebate-ofgem.com - prompted urgent warnings from the real Ofgem earlier this year. 

On arriving at the fake site, victims are confronted with a webform in order to 'set up a direct debit', which initially requests your full name, date of birth and email address.

For the purposes of this investigation, Which? filled in the webform using some false details and found we were further prompted to enter our:

• address and postcode
• email address
• phone number
• mother's maiden name
• payment card details.

Anyone providing these details to the scam site is likely to find their card fraudulently debited and would also be at grave risk of their identity and online accounts being taken over.

Both Which? and Ofgem have reported this scam website to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Which? has also seen examples of fake text messages impersonating the energy regulator. One example claims you're 'eligible for a government funded £400.00 energy bill rebate' and directs you ofgem.secure-reg.com to complete the application. The website was blocked by our security filters as it was identified as a phishing website. Which? has reported this website to NCSC. 

Find out more about identity theft and how to avoid it.

How to spot a scam energy rebate email

Highlighting the scam on Twitter, the regulator clarified that it 'would never ask for your bank details with regards to energy bills.' 

Legitimate emails from the regulator will always come from an address ending '@ofgem.gov.uk'. The regulator has also published a guide with tips on how to tell genuine Ofgem communications from false ones. 

Scammers have been quick to jump on the government’s £150 energy rebate. Local authorities are administering the rebates and the Local Government Association said councils won’t ask for bank details over the phone. We’ve also seen variations of energy rebate scams being sent by email and text message. Rebates will be issued directly to those who pay via direct debit, if you don’t pay this way then you’ll be contacted via a letter to explain how to claim.

This article was originally published on 18 May 2022 and updated on 23 August 2022.