Beware of this scam hitting Electric Ireland customers

18 Nov 2015

An email scam doing the rounds in Ireland this week has forced Electric Ireland to come out and advise its customers to steer clear, with dodgy emails landing in inboxes up and down the country.

The phishing scam seems pretty rubbish actually, with the email address the quite outlandish (deep breath): youraccountonlineelectricireland@gourmetlearning.com.

But, as with any phishing activity, it’s a numbers game – one which Electric Ireland is trying to get a handle on.

This morning, a colleague received said scam email, actually, with the Electric Ireland headed graphic and a few clever inclusions throughout.

Links work, links don’t work

For example, the company’s Facebook, Twitter, Boards and YouTube links actually work, although the Privacy Policy, FAQs and Disclaimer footer at the bottom of the mail don’t click through to anywhere.

What’s quite worrying is the details the scammers are trying to get from victims, notably bank details and a scanned copy of their passport.

Electric Ireland is advising customers not to click the refund link, which promised almost €100 in the email we received.

Contact your bank

“We would urge any customer who may have completed the form to contact their debit card company or bank immediately using the phone number listed on the back of their debit card,” said the company in a statement.

“We would also advise such customers to immediately change their password on their Online Billing Account.

“We would like to assure all Electric Ireland customers that your personal details on Electric Ireland’s database are secure and have not been compromised. This is a phishing email scam. Our IT Department are investigating and we have reported the matter to the Gardaí.”

Here is the email we received, if you get one delete it. Delete it and then empty your trash folder.

Electric Ireland

Phishing image via Shutterstock

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com