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Derbyshire residents have been urged to be vigilant – with a new scam offering energy bill discounts from the Government.

Derbyshire Police have shared an alert from Action Fraud, who have received 139 reports relating to fake text messages purporting to be from the UK government.

The texts state that the recipient is “owed” or “eligible” for an energy bill discount as part of the Energy Bill Support Scheme. The links in the emails lead to genuine-looking websites that are designed to steal your personal and financial information.

Derbyshire residents are reminded that the Energy Bill scheme is not one for which you need to apply – and you will not be asked for your bank details.

These are examples of some of the scam texts.

If you receive a suspicious text message, forward it to 7726 free of charge. Doing so allows your provider to investigate the origin of the text and arrange to block or ban the sender, if it is found to be malicious.

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For more information on how to stay secure online, please visit the Cyber Aware website here.

Derbyshire residents warned after hundreds of reported scam texts offering government energy bill discounts