Shoppers are warned of a supermarket scam as fake Tesco prize draw text messages promise customers £500 or an iPhone but actually charge £4.50 a message 

  • Tesco shoppers are being ripped off with a fake promotion offering £500
  • Customers are asked to fill in a survey to be entered into a prize draw
  • But the subsequent texts cost £4.50 to receive and are a scam
  • Tesco confirmed the survey is nothing to do with them and is investigating 

By Rebecca Taylor For Mailonline

Published: 10:23 EST, 9 October 2016 | Updated: 10:27 EST, 9 October 2016

Customers of the supermarket giant Tesco are being targeted in a text message scam. File photo

Customers of the supermarket giant Tesco are being targeted in a text message scam. File photo

Thousands of supermarket customers are being scammed by fake text messages claiming to be sent by Tesco, which charge £4.50 a time.

Customers of the supermarket giant and its secondary products such as insurance, have reported being billed nearly £5 for a text after answering apparent requests to take part in a survey. 

The Sunday Mirror reports that the survey is offering £500 cash prizes or an iPhone but the questionnaire is not linked with Tesco. 

Peter White, 74, told Stephen Hayward for the Sunday Mirror: 'I have my car insurance with Tesco so I just opened the email.

'I had to complete a form with my name and age, and my mobile number which I left blank.

'Then I got a message saying it was mandatory so I filled it in. 

'Within quarter of an hour I'd been charged £4.50 for a text. It's a complete scam.' 

A spokesman for Tesco said the messages and survey people are being sent is nothing to do with them. File photo

A spokesman for Tesco said the messages and survey people are being sent is nothing to do with them. File photo

Another customer reported being charged 20p for the stop message in an effort to get the £4.50 weekly 'prize draw' messages to end. 

A Tesco spokesman said: 'This is not a Tesco promotion. We are working to get it taken offline.'

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