Don’t fall for promise of £1,000 in Tesco and Sainsbury’s vouchers

Action Fraud is warning people to be aware of a fake email scam offering the chance to win thousands of pounds in supermarket vouchers after receiving hundreds of complaints from consumers. The email tricks people into sharing their details because they think they have won a supermarket voucher from Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Morrisions. Scams are on the increase in the run up to Christmas (Image: Getty)Fraud is now a national crisis with one case reported to Action Fraud every 85 seconds and reported losses adding up to over £3billion during the last year.In fact, if fraud in the UK was a person, they would have made enough in the last 12 months to place them comfortably within the top 60 places of The Sunday Times’ annual Rich List.Some £95 is lost to fraudsters every second in the UK according to a new study by Outseer which studied data of every reported incident of fraud to Action Fraud. Mark Crichton, head of product at Outseer, said: ‘These numbers make for grim reading – showing that fraud is now a part of everyday life for the British public.”DON’T MISSState pension triple lock guide and what it means for you [INSIGHT]State pension may shrink next year even if triple lock survives [ALERT]’Pensions death tax’ warning as Hunt move threatens inheritances [WARNING]Top pick savings account offers 4.5% interest on savings [UPDATE]He continued: ‘Of even more concern is that the figures only scratch the surface of the true scale of the problem.”The UK’s National Crime Agency believes fewer than 20 percent of incidents of fraud are actually reported.”Whether it’s fraudulent payments, brand impersonation or a dating scam, the reality is there’s a huge number of victims and the consequences can be devastating – with the average reported loss per victim at £8,100.”This should be a wake-up call for businesses and consumers alike. Businesses must do more to detect and prevent fraudulent activity, or risk falling foul to the multi-billion-pound fraud economy.’READ MORE: Simple money saving tips to save hundreds on your Christmas shopping Scam warning – what to look out for (Image: Express)The five common cost of living scams to watch out for:False promises of an energy rebateFake insurers offering fake car insuranceDVLA refund promisesAdvance fee fraud – don’t pay for a product or service in advance of receiving itMum and dad scam – this started on WhatsApp and is now being sent out as text scams.