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Protect yourself from TV Licensing scams: how to spot and report a fake email or text
We want to help keep your personal information safe from TV Licence scams. On this page, we’ll show you how to spot a fake email, text, phone call, or letter and report it.
For peace of mind, you can always check your licence or payment plan by signing in to your account on our website.
Report it to Action Fraud or call them on 0300 123 2040. If this included card or bank account details, talk to your bank immediately.
Protect your information by sending any scam or suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will investigate. If the email links to a scam website it will be blocked or taken down.
Watch our video on how to spot a TV Licence scam and where to report it.
How to identify a fake TV Licence email?
Genuine emails sent from us will only include the name and/or part of your postcode in our emails. Many scams simply use your email address or say ‘Dear Customer’.
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 ‘donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk’ (or ‘donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk’).
What email address is being used?
We send our emails from donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk (or donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk).
If you are a TV Licensing payment card customer and you make mobile payments via the TVL Pay app, you may receive emails from noreply@paypoint.com. The sender’s name will show as ‘TVL Pay’.
Check the email address. 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.
Watch out for ‘email spoofing’. This is where scammers are able to ‘spoof’ the genuine TV Licensing email address such as donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk.
Email spoofing is a technique used in spam and phishing emails to trick users into thinking the message came from a genuine person or company. Understanding scam tactics can help you stay vigilant.
If you click or tap the email address shown it will reveal the actual email address being used. If this shows a different email, it’s proof it's a fake and will help you avoid phishing scams.
Be wary though, recent email spoofs are using our official email addresses. If so, please follow the advice above to make sure it’s not a scam.
If you’ve clicked a link, are you on the real TV Licensing website?
Check the web address. Make sure you’re at tvlicensing.co.uk or spp.tvlicensing.co.uk
We won’t ask for:
- your mother’s maiden name
- your date of birth (unless you’re over 74 and applying for a free TV Licence)
- your card details to make a missed payment UNTIL you’ve signed in using your licence number, surname and postcode.
Need help to check if a TV Licensing email is genuine?
Here’s an example of a real TV Licensing email. We’ve marked it up to help you spot if an email you’ve received is a scam.
1. Check the sender
Genuine TV Licensing emails are sent from donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk, donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk or tvlfieldresearchteam@tvlicensing.co.uk.
2. Partial Postcode
If you have provided us with your postcode details, our emails will include part of your postcode and/or the name on the licence.
3. Look for your name
If you’ve given us your name, then we’ll always address you using your last name and title. The scammers won’t normally have that information about you. So, watch out for fraudulent emails that only address you as “Dear client” or “Dear customer” – or just use your email address (or part of it).
4. Check the spelling and grammar
Scammers can spoof our genuine TV Licensing web addresses but may also have email addresses that use slightly different spellings – look out for things like unusually placed hyphens and full stops or numbers in place of letters.
Be suspicious too if there are mistakes in the email with capital letters or other grammatical errors, like missing full stops – this could be a fake email.
5. Check the links
Be wary of emails promising money/refunds. For example, phrases such as, “click below to access your refund”, followed by a request to provide your credit card or bank details (we would never process a refund in this way).
Always check links in an email before clicking or tapping them.
If you're using a computer
Hover over the link in the fake email or web page (but don't click it). This will reveal the name of the web address that you are being sent to.
If you're using a smartphone or tablet
Press and hold on the link (don't release while you are on the link). This will reveal the name of the web address that you are being sent to.
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Phone and text message scams
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How do you report a scam text message?
Help stop the scammers by sending a photo or screenshot of the scam text message to textscam@tvlicensing.co.uk
Firstly, what we'll never do:
Before you enter any information, you should check the TV Licence website address is our genuine website tvlicensing.co.uk (or spp.tvlicensing.co.uk).
When do TV Licensing send text messages?
If the message asks you to call a number, please check it’s one of these numbers:
- 0300 555 0293 if you pay by payment card
- 0300 790 6082 if you pay by Direct Debit
- 0300 555 0355 if you are a Simple Payment Plan customer
If you’ve received a text which asks you to call any other number, do not call it.
Received a phone call and not sure it’s genuine?
Occasionally we may call you if there’s a problem with your TV Licence. This will usually be about a missed payment, a cancelled Direct Debit, or a reminder to renew.
If you’re not sure the call is genuine, don’t provide any personal information. You can also sign in to view your licence or payment plan.
If you’ve contacted us with a query, one of our team may call you back to discuss it. This may be from a withheld number, but the call will only be regarding the query you’ve raised.
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Letter scams
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What are the main things to look out for?
A TV Licence scammer may send you a letter, addressed to you by name, asking you to call or go online to confirm your payment details.
Letters from TV Licensing are genuine if:
What will scammers try?
A scam letter will often tell you there is a problem with your licence or that you are due a refund. This is to try to get you to go to a fake website or call a fake number to sort it out. If you are ever suspicious or doubtful about what a letter is asking you to do, sign in to your licence to check if anything looks wrong.
Official TV Licensing websites are:
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QR Codes
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QR codes in our communications
QR (quick response) codes, like the one shown here, are becoming increasingly common. They can help you reach a website more quickly, using your
mobile phone.To check if a QR code is genuinely from us, open the camera on your mobile and hover it over the code. It it's from us, you'll see one of the web links below, so you'll know it's safe to tap through:
And if you can't use the QR code, or you don't want to, we'll always show the full web address in the communication as well, so you can use that to access
the webpage.
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How to report a fake TV Licence email or text scam
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Report a fake TV Licence email – We support the work of the Government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to help stop scammers sending fake TV Licence emails.
Send any scam or suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and they will investigate.
Report a text scam – Take a screenshot of the message and send it to textscams@tvlicensing.co.uk
Need more help or advice?
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