Don’t be lured in by offer of free prize draw

QI KEEP getting emails from Boots and Tesco promising me a substantial free gift. Some say I will be entered for a free draw with a £1,000 or even more prize – just for looking. I probably know this is some sort of rubbish so am careful to delete them – except for the one I forwarded on to you!

What would happen if I opened the email – both to me and my computer? I also want to find out how to be sure that an email is really coming from Boots or Tesco – I shop at both and have both their loyalty cards.

ASandra H

MANY emails are fraudulent or – as this one is – on the margins of legality because they try to sell an investment “opportunity” that’s unsuitable, and your chances of doing well are roughly similar to predicting six winning horses out of six at a race meeting.

This is not a virus or “phishing” for bank details, yet despite millions of dodgy emails and countless warnings, the lure of something for nothing plus personalisation – this one said “Special surprise for Sandra H” – leads many into temptation.

Similar emails seem to come from most big retailers – Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Asda and Sainsbury’s, to name a few.

Besides no legitimate shop marketing itself like this, you can often tell they don’t come from the named store because the email address has nothing to do with it.

Your email came from info@lex. regulatoryanxiety.com. That’s not Boots or anything to do with the high street pharmacy but a site which says it is “dedicated to finding the best money-saving offers on the Web and delivering them directly to you, the consumer”, and not much else.

If you follow this one through, you end up at a website claiming Bitcoin trading is so simple a 15-year-old could follow the “automated program” and make a fortune from £250.

Bitcoin investing, however, is a highly speculative venture and you’ll probably end up losing that amount and a lot more.

Some offers are legitimate. Stores often want feedback on your shopping experience and offer small prizes. But you will have recently purchased from