If an older relative has had a text or email telling them to "claim" or "verify" their Winter Fuel Payment through a link, it is almost certainly a Winter Fuel Payment scam. The same trick turns up as an HMRC text scam, a DWP email, or a phone call. The message looks official, it mentions a payment you are owed, and it presses you to act quickly. The good news is that these scams all rely on the same weak spot, and once you know the one rule below, they stop working. This is a piece to read, then forward to the people in your family who need it most.
How the Winter Fuel Payment scam works
The message claims to come from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or HMRC. It says you need to apply for, confirm, or unlock a Winter Fuel Payment or "energy support" grant, usually by a date that is only a few days away. There is a link. Tap it and you land on a page that copies the look of a real gov.uk site, then asks for your name, address, date of birth, and bank or card details.
Nothing on that page goes to the government. The details are harvested by criminals and used to take money or open accounts in your name. The scam works by borrowing the authority of a real payment and adding a countdown, so that worry does the thinking for you.
Here is the fact that pulls the whole thing apart. The Winter Fuel Payment is paid automatically. Gov.uk is plain about it: "Most people get the Winter Fuel Payment automatically if they're eligible." If you qualify, you do not apply, you do not confirm anything, and you do not click a link to receive it. Anyone told to "apply in time or lose it" is being set up.
What are the tell-tale signs?
Scam messages share a family resemblance. Look for any of these:
- It asks you to click a link to claim, verify, or apply for a payment.
- It asks for bank details, card numbers, a PIN, or a password.
- It creates a deadline and warns you will lose the money if you do not act.
- The sender's number or email address looks odd, or the web address is not the real gov.uk.
- The greeting is generic ("Dear customer") and the wording is slightly off.
One or more of these is enough to treat a message as a scam. Real government messages never behave this way.
The one rule that keeps you safe
HMRC and the DWP never ask for your bank or card details by text or email, and they never send you a link to claim a payment. That single rule covers almost every scam of this kind. If a message asks for financial details or pushes you to a payment link, it is fake, no matter how convincing the logo or the sender name looks. Sender names and numbers can be faked, so the presence of "HMRC" or "DWP" proves nothing.
When in doubt, stop and check independently. Do not use any number or link in the message itself. Type gov.uk into your browser yourself and go from there, or ring the organisation using a number you already have.
What genuine contact looks like
Real government contact tends to be dull, which is a good sign. For the Winter Fuel Payment, most eligible people simply receive a letter in the autumn confirming the amount, and the money arrives automatically. You can check who qualifies and how it is paid on the official page at gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment.
Genuine HMRC letters and messages do not demand instant payment through a link or ask you to hand over card details on the spot. If you ever need to know what a real HMRC approach looks like, or you are dealing with a genuine query and want a steady hand, our tax investigations team does this work every week. If your interest is the payment itself and how it interacts with tax, see our companion piece on Winter Fuel Payments being clawed back through the tax system.
What to do if you are targeted
If a message like this arrives, the safest response is simple. Do not click the link. Do not reply. Do not share any personal or financial details. Then:
- Forward scam texts to 7726. It is free and reports the message to your mobile provider.
- Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, the National Cyber Security Centre's reporting address.
- Report fraud to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), or to Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland. Full guidance is at gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing.
- If you have already shared bank or card details, ring your bank straight away using the number on the back of your card, and change any password you gave out.
There is no shame in being targeted. These messages are designed to catch careful people on a busy day. Reporting one helps protect the next person who gets it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most people do not. Gov.uk states that most eligible people get it automatically, usually with a letter in the autumn confirming the amount. Any message telling you to apply through a link, or lose the payment, is a scam. Check who qualifies at gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment.
No. HMRC and the DWP never ask for your bank or card details by text or email, and they never send a link to claim a payment. If a message does either of those things, it is fake, however official it looks.
Forward scam texts to 7726, which is free, and suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. You can also report fraud to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland. Do not click any link in the message first.
Act quickly but calmly. Ring your bank using the number on the back of your card and tell them what happened. Change any password you entered, and report it to Action Fraud. Banks deal with this every day and can move fast to protect your account.
If someone in your family has had one of these messages and is not sure what to do, we are happy to take a look and set your mind at rest. Call us on 020 8554 2135, email info@visionconsulting.co.uk, or use our contact page.
By the Vision Consulting team.
This is general information, not advice. Your position depends on your circumstances.