Concern over big rise in winter fuel payment scams

Scammers are exploiting changes to the winter fuel payments system, say police

People who could qualify for winter fuel payments from the government have been warned by police about a rising number of scams.

Det Sgt John Causton, from Merseyside Police's economic crime team, said 45 of the 75 reports his force had received since June 2024 about attempted cons had come during the last two months.

Fortunately, he said nobody who had approached police after receiving suspicious emails or text messages had been duped into losing money.

But he added: "What we are concerned about is the people who may not have reported it and who may have been victims."

'Exploiting uncertainty'

Det Sgt Causton said criminals were sending texts and emails as well as phoning people while "pretending to be from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), asking for personal information".

He said the DWP never operated this way and had only contacted people via letter between October and November to confirm they were automatically eligible for the payments.

Describing the scammers as "very convincing", the senior detective warned that anyone clicking on a link or phoning a bogus number would be putting themselves in "financial risk".

Merseyside Police said the spike in fraud attempts "appears timed to coincide with the government's recent changes to winter fuel payment eligibility criteria".

A force spokesman added: "Fraudsters are exploiting this period of transition and public uncertainty about the changes to target vulnerable individuals, particularly older residents."