Don't be fooled by the supermarket voucher scam in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire Police is urging shoppers to be on their guard against bogus supermarket vouchers that are being shared on social media in the run up to Christmas.

Over the past week, Facebook users on the North Yorkshire Police Fraud Awareness page have been warned about a fraudulent website that is promoting £50 vouchers and e-vouchers to people in return for sharing posts and completing online forms.

The website asks for details ranging from a name and an email address, to asking for proof of ID and bank details.

It then states that the voucher is not available and the value will instead be paid in to the person’s bank account.

The vouchers currently being shared are falsely claiming to be from Morrisons and Tesco.

People are asked not to share these posts online or interact with the website.

Concerns should be reported to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040.

PCSO Nathan Stuart, a Fraud Ambassador for North Yorkshire Police, has been sharing key advice messages on Facebook.

He said:

“These vouchers are not real and they are not connected to any of the supermarkets that they claim to be.

If you consider that 10,000 people could share the post in just an hour, the supermarkets would effectively be handing out half a million pounds which is ludicrous.

As always, if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

The fraudsters use this type of phishing scam to obtain details of people for use in criminality.

Unwittingly, if you provide your details, they can be sold between criminals and used to further attempt to take your money or can be used in identity theft.

Please do everything you can to avoid becoming a victim of online fraud, especially at this time of year when people can be tempted by Black Friday or Cyber Monday offers that will be coming up as we head towards Christmas.”

You have been warned and the police would love you to share this story.

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