Over-75s duped by TV licence fee fraudsters
OVER-75S awaiting letters about their new licence fee payments are falling victim to fraudsters, it has emerged, with authorities reporting a rise in “phishing” emails.
The BBC has told 4.5million pensioners to await a letter from TV Licensing advising them how to set up payment, as the free scheme for over-75s ended on Friday.
But the corporation has not given an indication of when the communication will arrive or what the wording will be and, in the meantime, pensioners are being duped by scam emails which purport to be official.
The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, said the number of licence fee “phishing” emails rose in July, compared to previous months, and it was working hard to block them.
A spokesman said: “It is despicable that criminals are targeting over-75s in this way. TV Licensing would never ask for payment details over an email, so as soon as we were alerted to the scam messages sent in this callous campaign, they were immediately blocked.
“While it’s awful that elderly people are being targeted, we are pleased to have a system in place that can stop these attacks. Reporting to the service helps to prevent others falling victim.”
One email appears to be from TV Licensing and is titled: “Information about your TV Licence.”
It reads: “Oops! Something went wrong with your payment. We’re sorry to let you know that your TV Licence could not be automatically renewed.”
The email tells the recipient they must pay immediately “to remain legally licensed”.
It goes on: “If you don’t keep up with your payments, we may be forced to cancel your licence or pass your details to a debt collection agency.”
It directs the recipient to click on a link and input their bank details.
The email was shared online by a Twitter user who said her elderly mother had followed the instructions and was “distraught” to realise she had fallen victim to a scam.
Another said: “My mum got caught last week on this same scam. She was expecting to have to pay soon, got the email, and ended up giving her bank details to them.”