Earlier this month mobiles across the UK suddenly belted out a loud siren. If you have a smartphone you are almost certain to have heard it. This noise was all part of a nationwide test to see if the government’s new Emergency Alert system is working properly. The platform is designed to notify people of impending – and life-threatening issues – such as flooding, fires and more.

However, it also appears to have caught the eye of cyber crooks, who are now trying to cash in. According to the team at Which?, an email has started landing in boxes asking UK residents to say if they received the alert on their devices.

It all looks incredibly convincing and even features GOV.UK branding and font.

“The UK government conducted a test of the Emergency Alerts service on Sunday, 7 September 2025,” the email reads.

“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 included that ask the user to say “yes” or “no” if they heard the alarm. Once clicked, malware can be installed, which could give hackers access to highly personal data.

“These emails are not genuine and recipients shouldn’t click on any links,” Which? is warning.

“If you believe you’ve clicked a malicious link, you should be careful not to log in to any accounts.”

It’s unclear if Google’s Gmail spam block is filtering these messages but all account holders across platforms incuding Yahoo and Outlook should stay alert.

In a statement sent 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 report@phishing.gov.uk, and not click on suspicious links.”

So be warned. If you get an email asking you about the Emergency Alert, be cautious and do not click!