This TV licence refund email is a scam
There’s a new scam on the block and over 200 people have already been hit. Here’s what you need to know about the TV Licence con.
Action Fraud is warning that criminals are sending out emails pretending to be from TV Licensing.
The watchdog says it has already received over 200 reports about the phishing scam.
The email lures you in by saying you are owed a refund on your TV Licence payments. But, it’s a con and all the senders are really after is your bank details.
What does the email say?
So far all the emails have been the same. They say:
“This is an official notification from TV Licensing!
“We would like to notify you that, after the last annual calculation we have determined that you are eligible to receive a TV Licensing refund of 85.07 GBP.
“Due to invalid account details records, we were unable to credit your account. Please fill in the TV Licensing refund request and allow us 5-6 working days to the amount to be credited to your account.”
We've had over 200 reports about this #TVlicence phishing email. @tvlicensing would never email to tell you that you’re entitled to a refund! 📺 pic.twitter.com/AXMKBYCZ0K
— Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) November 14, 2017
All this is untrue. If you receive this email the best thing to do is report it to Action Fraud and then delete it. Do not click on any links within the email.
“A small number of our customers have received scam email messages saying they are due a refund,” a spokesperson for TV Licensing has said. “A link directs customers to a fake version of the official TV Licensing website which asks them to enter personal information and bank details.
“If you receive a similar email message please delete it. If you have already clicked the link, do not enter or submit any information. TV Licensing never sends refund information by email and is investigating the source of the fraud.”
16 common email scams to watch out for
You could be due a refund
While these emails are a scam they carry an element of truth – you might be due a refund from TV Licensing.
There are a number of ways you can avoid paying the full licence fee.
If you are a student you are entitled to a £37 discount on the £147.50 colour TV licence.
You can also apply for a refund if you’ve paid for a TV Licence beyond your 75th birthday. Anyone over the age of 75 is entitled to watch TV for free.
TV Licences apply to households not individuals so if anyone if your household is a student, or over 75 then you all get the benefit of their discount.
Similarly, if someone in your house is severely visually impaired they are entitled to a half-price TV licence.
You can apply for a refund via the official TV Licensing Website.
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Comments
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You say "If you are a student you are entitled to a £37 discount on the £147.50 colour TV licence.", but there is nothing on the TV Licensing website which mentions this. Are you sure?
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Not only must the scammers be brought to justice: there must be plenty of publicity around these cases also.
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IMHO there is only one way to reduce the number of scams on the internet and that is to bring a significant number of perpetrators to justice. Due to the international nature of the Web this will cost a massive amount of money but once some are caught the problem will soon decrease. The UN should make a resolution that if a country refuses to co-operate with enforcement, their IP addresses will be blocked.
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19 November 2017