Yet another example of phone scammers targeting pensioners

Some scams encourage you to click on a link to provide your bank details

On the very same day that my column was published I received a text from “The Government”. With the emblem prominently displayed it informed me that I had been lucky enough to be chosen to receive a winter fuel payment of several hundred pounds.

All I had to do was provide them with details of my bank account and transfer £1 from my account to theirs and “Boab’s yer uncle” the allowance would be with me forthwith. Suffice to say that it was deleted.

I decided to visit the “Inform” website to get further information on this particular scam which told me that: “The scam encourages you to click on a link to ‘update’ or ‘provide’ your details to receive the payment – these details will likely include asking for your bank account information. Unfortunately, the link doesn’t go to the UK Government website and certainly doesn’t have anything to do with Winter Fuel Payments.”

Clicking unknown links puts your information at risk, don’t let the cyber-criminals get your information. To steal the well-known public transport warning “See it, say it, sorted”. If you spot a scam you can report it to HMRC’s dedicated phishing and scams team, details of which can be found on the GOV.UK website.

I told a friend of mine that I had received the offending scam text only for him to tell me that he had received the same text that very morning. Fortunately, he had not yet responded and was now going to delete it.

This is yet another example of scammers targeting people of a certain age, in this case pensioners. Make no mistake these scammers will plunder your bank account if allowed to do so. No matter what it says, take the time to consult your bank or a close “knowledgeable” friend before clicking on any link. But if in doubt do not reply. If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is!