TV Licence fee scams: how to spot ‘urgent payment’ scams and what genuine BBC licence fee emails look like

• TV Licensing is warning Brits about potential scams.
• Crooks could use dodgy emails to trick you out of your hard-earned cash.
• But how can you spot one of these scam emails?

If your TV Licence is up for renewal in the near future, you are likely to get a timely reminder by email. However before you click any link, make sure it is genuine and not a scam.

Tech-savvy crooks could be targeting you with fake emails in a bid to trick you out of your hard-earned cash. People who receive these scams could be asked to make an “urgent payment”.

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But what are the signs you need to watch out for? Here’s all you need to know:

How can you spot a TV licence scam email?

On its website, TV Licensing has issued guidance on ways to spot scam emails. It explains: “We want to help keep your personal information safe from TV Licence scams. For peace of mind, you can always check your licence or payment plan by signing in to your account on our website.”

TV Licensing adds that genuine emails “will only include the name and/or part of your postcode” and warns that “many scams simply use your email address or say ‘Dear Customer’”.

Other signs to watch out for include:

• Scam emails often tell you that you need to make an urgent payment. We only email you about payments if you have missed one. You can sign in to your account to check.
• TV Licence scam emails may show a fake licence number. Your licence number is on letters we send you, or search your email inbox for emails from ‘[email protected]’ (or ‘[email protected]’).

The company adds that it only sends email from the following address: [email protected] (or [email protected]). While scammers often hide the true email address they’re using.

On your device, select the sender’s name (or email address) to show the actual email address.

TV Licensing also says: “If you are a TV Licensing payment card customer and you make mobile payments via the TVL Pay app, you may receive emails from [email protected]. The sender’s name will show as ‘TVL Pay’.”

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