TV Licence scam
I have been contacted by two of our members who have recently experienced a current scam around TV Licences. Fraudsters are sending out fake TV Licence refund emails that lead to convincing looking websites in a bid to steal a would be victim bank account details. They claim that TV Licensing have been trying to get hold of recipients regarding an overpayment refund or that due to invalid account details a credit was not possible. The refund links lead to cloned TV Licensing websites that are designed to harvest bank account and credit card details.
TV Licensing’s tips for spotting a scam email:
• Check the email contains your name – TV licensing will always include your name in any emails they send you.
• Check the email subject line – anything along the lines of “Action required”, “Security Alert”, “System Upgrade”, “There is a secure message waiting for you”, and so on, should be treated as suspect.
• Check the email address – does the email address look like one that TV Licensing use? For example donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk. Look closely as often the address may be similar.
• Check for a change in style – often the scammers will take the real emails and amend them. Look out for changes in the wording used, especially if it seems too casual or familiar.
• Check for spelling and grammar – are there any spelling mistakes, missing full stops or other grammatical errors?
• Never provide details by email – TV licensing will never ask you to reply to an email and provide bank details or personal information.
To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040
A phone call scam
The other member reported scam is a phone call attempt to get your bank details because:
‘You have overpaid on your electrical appliance breakdown protection policy’. It goes on ‘Please let us have your bank details in order that we can refund £100.00’. Put the phone down and block the caller.
David Rose