Protect Your Tech

Fake supermarket websites

What are they?

Scammers are exploiting the rise in people ordering food online by setting up fake websites that mimic the major supermarkets. By ordering groceries on these sites, you’re handing over your personal and payment-card details.

Researchers at London-based security firm Mimecast found 30 fake Tesco websites, 11 for Asda and 10 for Amazon. Criminals buy a domain name similar to a genuine grocery website, then create pages that impersonate the original.

Mimecast said it had detected 60,000 fake business sites since January, with the retail sector being hardest hit. Mimecast said the scammers typically “keep brand font and tone consistent with the real branding” to make the fake sites look more convincing (our screenshot shows a fake Asda site). on any of these, open the bookmark rather than type the URL.

Criminals will also try to direct you to fake sites through email and text scams, or in adverts on social media. These often contain tempting discounts or time-limited vouchers.

Although lockdown is now easing and shops are reopening, scammers will continue to create fake supermarket sites because customers are increasingly choosing to buy food online. Figures show that groceries ordered online make up 11.5 per cent of the market, up from seven per cent last year. Between them, Tesco, Asda and Amazon had 2.5 billion site visits in April. Where customers go, scammers follow, pound signs in their eyes.