Action Fraud has issued a warning over TV Licence scam emails, after it received more than 3,400 reports of these in the last two weeks alone.
The fraudulent emails state that the customer’s TV licence is about to expire or that there was a problem with their latest payment.
The links provided in the email lead to genuine-looking websites which are designed to steal personal and financial details.
Action Fraud is urging customers not to click on links or use the numbers or email addresses in the message if they have any doubts.
On the rise: Action Fraud has seen 3,400 cases of TV Licensing scam reports in two weeks
How to avoid a TV licence scam and how to report one
The first thing to check in any correspondence is that it includes your correct licence number.
This can be found on letters TV Licensing sends you, or you can search your email inbox for emails from ‘[email protected]’ or ‘[email protected]’.
Official TV Licensing emails include your name and/or part of your postcode. Many scam emails will simply use your email address or say ‘Dear Customer’, so this is a dead giveaway.
Scam emails will also often tell you that you need to make an urgent payment. However, TV Licensing says it will only email customers about payments if they have missed one.
Another tactic of scammers is to claim that it can offer a refund or a cheaper TV licence. TV Licensing says it will never do this, unless someone has contacted it directly about a refund and they are replying to them.
Scammers often hide the true email address they’re using, so check the email address it comes from is one of the genuine ones listed above.
You can report any scam or suspicious emails to [email protected] and the National Cyber Security Centre will investigate. If the email links to a scam website, it will be blocked or taken down.
Anyone who thinks they may have already entered their details on a suspicious site should report it to Action Fraud online, or call it on 0300 123 2040.
If you entered any card or bank account details, talk to your bank immediately.
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
