Although a TV licence only costs £169.50 a year, some people are losing thousands to scammers posing as officials from the TV Licensing Company.
Last November, the Mail reported on a woman who lost £20,000 in a fake TV licensing scam after a scammer stole her details through a phishing email.
The official licensing agency has announced key signs that could mean you’re being contacted by a scammer.
They warned that criminals are manipulating email addresses to look similar to the official TV Licensing email address.
If an email claiming to be from the company doesn’t come from donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk or donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk, it’s highly likely that it is a tv licence scam and you are being targeted by scammers.
A spokesperson for the agency said: “If you have provided us with your postcode details, our emails will include part of your postcode and/or the name on the licence.”
TV Licensing also said it would address people using their title and last name, which differs from imposters who will usually use the phrase “Dear customer/client” or call you by your email address.
Another common sign of a TV licence scam is the use of poor grammar and spelling in emails and texts sent to victims.
Although criminals are now using AI to improve clarity and writing style, the tone will still “appear odd” with things like “incorrect punctuation or random capitalisation being tell tale signs”, according to the Licensing agency.
Clicking the link directs users to a form that asks for their banking details.
However, TV Licensing assured: “We would never process a refund in this way.”
To verify links in an email, hover over them on a computer or press and hold on a smartphone without clicking to check the web address.
Have you lost money to a TV licence scam? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.