Winter Fuel Payment , possible scam

Muttleythefrog · 26 June at 9:21PM

I very much doubt the url (web address they told you to click on which will appear at the top of your browser when there) is actually the official .gov.uk one... possibly looks similar like govuk or gov-uk!

Everything suggests scam.. every single element of this.. and I am worried you've been inputting data to a criminal website... I hope not too much! You didn't make a payment but if you have submitted any card details immediately have the card cancelled (probably a telephone number on the rear of the card) and replaced... that's what they were after...your basic details and card information.... not the £1.

Scammers know virtually everyone who gets texts like this will realise immediately it is rubbish.... it's that 1 in a thousand who are vulnerable who they make their killing from. What better than using a pensioner related subject.

Please in future run any such texts past people you trust or a site like this - it troubles me that it was only when you felt it unusual or suspicious they asked for a card payment (which they were not interested in suffice for probably confirming you entered correct details they would then have control of) that you stopped.... many other scams would never need to go that far or request such to achieve their information needs.

Ultimately all of us can be fooled... I reckon I'm pretty savvy about these things... but perhaps a year or so ago I looked out of my top floor flat window and saw the Evri driver attempting to get into the building - great I was expecting a parcel delivery from Evri at any moment as I'd tracked them in real time. At exactly the same moment I received a text from Evri saying that my delivery had failed... I was livid.. the guy was at the door I'd have buzzed him in... I went to reply to the text instruction and while I did the delivery arrived.... I looked back at the text and realised it was not legitimate... the timing of it was frighteningly erm suspicious. It became even more suspicious when I think it was a week or two later almost exactly the same thing happened... Evri delivery anticipated... driver arrives... scam text received. And they were the only Evri scam texts over the period... I suspect insider information or hacked Evri software made them capable of this as it is otherwise difficult to explain... the statistical probability is so remote to be chance alone. Had the texts arrived at any other time than a literal Evri delivery driver at the building I would have quickly dismissed as scam as I'd have had the second or two peace of mind to spot the scammer URL etc and done what I do with scam texts a couple a week that I get.

suelizab · 26 June at 11:47PM

I had this 4 weeks ago . I just deleted it as DWP do not have my telephone number so couldn't be them . any phone calls and I always ask them to put it in writing . all scams.

jools1985 · 27 June at 12:45AM

Thia scam was mentioned on Morning Live earlier this week. Gloria Hunniford was talking about it.

jackieblack · 27 June at 6:05AM

I received similar by text yesterday, the link was to www.govuk.com (or something similar, it definitely had gov and uk but not gov.uk, so I knew it wasn’t right)
I reported via 7726

TELLIT01 · 27 June at 9:23AM

I has a similar e-mail but the link was actually to something like govuk.com certainly not gov.uk. You need to check links very carefully.

diveunderthebonnet · 27 June at 7:20PM

Thanks everyone for the info/help ,luckily i did not input any info/card details etc. so should be ok ,i like to think i am quite savvy when it comes to scams but i almost got caught out there .

diveunderthebonnet · 27 June at 7:25PM

Muttleythefrog said:

I very much doubt the url (web address they told you to click on which will appear at the top of your browser when there) is actually the official .gov.uk one... possibly looks similar like govuk or gov-uk!

Everything suggests scam.. every single element of this.. and I am worried you've been inputting data to a criminal website... I hope not too much! You didn't make a payment but if you have submitted any card details immediately have the card cancelled (probably a telephone number on the rear of the card) and replaced... that's what they were after...your basic details and card information.... not the £1.

Scammers know virtually everyone who gets texts like this will realise immediately it is rubbish.... it's that 1 in a thousand who are vulnerable who they make their killing from. What better than using a pensioner related subject.

Please in future run any such texts past people you trust or a site like this - it troubles me that it was only when you felt it unusual or suspicious they asked for a card payment (which they were not interested in suffice for probably confirming you entered correct details they would then have control of) that you stopped.... many other scams would never need to go that far or request such to achieve their information needs.

Ultimately all of us can be fooled... I reckon I'm pretty savvy about these things... but perhaps a year or so ago I looked out of my top floor flat window and saw the Evri driver attempting to get into the building - great I was expecting a parcel delivery from Evri at any moment as I'd tracked them in real time. At exactly the same moment I received a text from Evri saying that my delivery had failed... I was livid.. the guy was at the door I'd have buzzed him in... I went to reply to the text instruction and while I did the delivery arrived.... I looked back at the text and realised it was not legitimate... the timing of it was frighteningly erm suspicious. It became even more suspicious when I think it was a week or two later almost exactly the same thing happened... Evri delivery anticipated... driver arrives... scam text received. And they were the only Evri scam texts over the period... I suspect insider information or hacked Evri software made them capable of this as it is otherwise difficult to explain... the statistical probability is so remote to be chance alone. Had the texts arrived at any other time than a literal Evri delivery driver at the building I would have quickly dismissed as scam as I'd have had the second or two peace of mind to spot the scammer URL etc and done what I do with scam texts a couple a week that I get.

Regarding the Evri scam i got one saying that they could not deliver a parcel as they needed contact info off me ,deleted asap ,i later got a message from an Amazon supplier who were supplying some car mats for my car saying the mats would be late as they had not put the correct delivery details on the parcel for Evri to deliver ,the parcel arrived a couple of days later with our local and friendly Evri driver who we know.