‘Don’t lose your 12,739 points!’ The text scams cashing in on bogus rewards

Since EE first heard of the scam two months ago, 265,000 of its customers have reported the fake text messages. Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images/iStockphoto

You get a text message with some good news: your mobile provider has been operating a rewards programme and you have earned almost 13,000 points.

You haven’t heard of the scheme before but since so many of the operators have rewards plans, you assume you must just have missed it. When you click on the link, you arrive at a site branded with your operator’s logo and find you can cash in your points for a new massage chair or a high-end vacuum cleaner, among other items. All you have to do is pay the postage.