diff --git a/js/Common.js b/js/Common.js
index 15f3528b2d6e..43cc526b7213 100644
--- a/js/Common.js
+++ b/js/Common.js
@@ -1260,7 +1260,8 @@ if (!CRM.vars) CRM.vars = {};
       if (title.length) {
         text = title + "\n" + text;
       }
-      alert(text);
+      // strip html tags as they are not parsed in standard alerts
+      alert($("<div/>").html(text).text());
       return null;
     }
   };