UK heatwave fuels surge in fake climate product scams

A heatwave across the United Kingdom has sharply increased demand for air conditioners and portable cooling devices. The shortage of stock and rising prices have driven consumers to seek deals online, where fraudsters are exploiting the situation.

Cyber‑security firm Kaspersky reports that scammers are cloning the websites of well‑known retailers such as Aldi, creating convincing fake pages that advertise deep discounts on climate‑control products. These pages use urgency cues like “last 5 items” and “sale ends soon” to push shoppers into quickly entering their payment details. The goal is to harvest credit‑card information and personal data.

Kaspersky’s analyst Olga Altukhova advises users to verify URLs carefully, avoid links from emails or social media, and compare offers with official retailer sites. Aldi has confirmed that it is reporting the counterfeit sites to authorities and urges customers to shop only through its official website and verified social‑media accounts.