The government issued a warning about the scam which is targeting users across the UK
Earlier this month, mobile phones right across the UK suddenly blared out a deafening siren and if you own a smartphone, you’re almost guaranteed to have heard it.
This racket was all part of a nationwide trial to check whether the government’s fresh Emergency Alert system functions properly. The service is intended to warn people about approaching – and potentially fatal dangers – including floods, blazes and other threats.
Sadly however, this has grabbed the attention of online criminals, who are now attempting to profit from it, reports the Express. According to experts at Which? an email has begun appearing in inboxes asking people to confirm whether they received the alert on their gadgets.
It all appears remarkably authentic and even includes GOV.UK branding and typography. It reads: “The UK government conducted a test of the Emergency Alerts service on Sunday, 7 September 2025. This system warns the public if there is a life-threatening emergency nearby. To help us assess how reliably these alerts are delivered, please answer the questions below.”
Links are then provided that prompt the user to respond “yes” or “no” if they heard the alarm. Once pressed, malicious software can be downloaded, which could grant fraudsters access to extremely personal information.
“These emails are not genuine and recipients shouldn’t click on any links,” Which? is cautioning. They stress that “if you believe you’ve clicked a malicious link, you should be careful not to log in to any accounts.”
It remains uncertain whether Google’s Gmail spam filter is blocking these messages, but users across all platforms including Yahoo and Outlook should remain vigilant.
In a statement provided to Which?, the government said: “We reported this scam to the National Cyber Security Centre as soon as we became aware of it. As always, people should forward suspicious emails to [email protected], and not click on suspicious links.”
So stay on alert. If you receive an email enquiring about the Emergency Alert, exercise caution and avoid clicking!
