The Best Guide for the Neston Area

Unfortunately, the advice in the above story is incorrect. Scammers can easily spoof a senders email address, so the checks described above are unlikely to help, at least at first glance. This is why your bank tells you not to click on links in emails.

The best advice is to go to the TV Licensing website and follow their guidance.... https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/aged-74-and-over-aud3

Any email you receive that demands your urgent attention with the threat of a fine or promising a prize is likely to be a scam. Those who get suckered in inadvertently give away personal details, dates of birth, address, phone number, and bank details, bank card numbers. Lo-and-behold, the victim experiences card fraud on their bank account or receives a seemingly plausible phone call a few days later from the Police or their bank Fraud Team (Hint: it’s the scammers..and they seem to know a lot about you because you told them this info a few days ago). They then ask you to move your money to a “safe account” to keep it safe from criminals..usually some nonsense about a corruption investigation into their bank or the local police. A lot of victims make the payments from their account themselves - The criminals want you to do this because it is harder for the bank to spot the fraud if it is their genuine customer attempting to make a payment. This is why your bank tells you that they will never ask you to move your money to a safe account or to reveal codes/passwords. Many victims are so taken in by the scammers that they get convinced to lie to their bank and even their own family.

If you have an elderly relative in your family it is worth discussing the above advice with them, particularly if they have a few thousand quid sitting in their accounts.

Scammers often start with no more than an email address, they quickly gather more info from their victim and will phone them soon after. Therefore, it’s essential to remember how this stuff starts and how it works.

More advice about the TV License scam https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ288

It's probably also worth making the point that the TV licensing authority has no direct connection with the BBC.

They will not send an email with a BBC logo, as the AMA reader indicates has happened, nor should you expect contact from the BBC when the licence fee is due.

Any email contact will most likely come from donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk