BANK RAID
Martin Lewis’ MSE warns of devastating winter fuel payment text and tells people to ‘spread the word’
The warning comes just weeks after the government cut winter fuel payments from roughly 10million pensioners
THE elderly are being targeted by a wave of fake winter fuel payment texts, Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert has warned.
The messages claim to be from the UK government offering heating subsidies this winter.
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In a post on Twitter, the Money Saving Expert account wrote: "If you receive a text like these, IGNORE IT.
"Criminals are targeting people with them about fake winter grants and schemes.
"You can report scam texts to your provider by forwarding them to 7726.
"Please do spread the word to help people from getting caught out."
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One commenter said they had received two dodgy phishing messages roughly three minutes apart.
However, one tell-tale sign the message was fake was the poor spelling.
The warning comes just weeks after the government cut winter fuel payments from roughly 10million pensioners.
Each year, the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides winter fuel payments to assist people of pension age with heating costs.
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The Autumn Budget recently saw the number of people eligible for the credit fall from 11.4million to around 1.5million.
The bogus texts claim to be for a benefit with no age limit, which does not exist.
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At the end of each text, potential victims are invited to click a link to 'update their information'.
Some of the links, according to BleepingComputer, take recipients to a lookalike GOV.UK page, which could fool unsuspecting victims.
Recipients are then asked to input their name, email, phone number, home address and even their card details into a fake GOV.UK page.
There are nearly 600 different fake website links connected to this scam, the report added.
What is phishing?
Here's what you need to know...
- Phishing is a type of online fraud
- It’s typically an attempt to nab some of your data
- Phishing generally involves scammers posing as a trustworthy entity
- For instance, fraudsters could send you an email claiming to be your bank, asking for details
- Scammers can also set up fake websites that look like real ones, simply to hoodwink you
- Phishing can take place over email, social media, texts, phone calls and more
- The best defence against phishing is to be generally sceptical of weblinks and emails, especially if they were unsolicited
Reports and recipients claims that phone numbers sending the malicious messages are connected to various different countries, including Romania and Estonia.
The UK's Regional Organised Crime Unit Network has warned pensioners to be "vigilant" against text messages claiming to be from any government department.
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"Scam text messages talking about winter heating subsidies, and other support is being sent claiming to be from the Department of Work and Pensions and the Home Office to try to trick unsuspecting recipients into believing they will receive a heating subsidy," the organisation wrote in a statement.
"You should never click on the link, provide any personal details including bank details or make any sort of payment."
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