DWP Impersonation Scams

The DWP have started to increase checks of pension credit claimants. This means some pension credit claimants will be asked to provide more information about their capital and income. This might include submitting bank statements and other information. The DWP confirmed that being selected for review does not mean that the claimant has done anything wrong and that they  will treat claimants sensitively throughout the process.

Due to the risk of scammers who seek to defraud claimants by pretending to be the DWP, affected claimants should check that requests for information are actually coming from DWP before handing over sensitive information. Affected claimants should contact the DWP directly to ensure that requests are coming from the Pension Service. 

Claimants should call the Pension Service directly on 0800 731 0469 and not on any telephone numbers, text messages or email address provided by potential fraudsters.

Subscription scams
Rogue advertisers are camouflaging their content on popular websites. There might be a prompt saying ‘click to continue’, which is a disguised advert. It’s designed to blend into the website’s normal content. The prompt can take people to requests to give card details. This might result in people accidentally signing up to a subscription. 

Which? advises people who have been scammed to contact their card provider to stop any future payments. If the subscription company won’t refund, people can ask for help from their bank. 

You can read about adverts leading to ‘scamscriptions’ on Which? website. 

Thanks to Citizens Advice for the information