‘TV Licensing Refund’ Phishing Scam
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
What the fact-checkers found
This email, which purports to be from the UK’s official TV Licensing entity, claims that you are eligible for a TV Licensing refund.
It claims that TV Licensing was unable to credit your account due to invalid details and invites you to click a “Refund Me Now” button to submit a refund request.
However, the email is not from TV Licensing and the claim that you can click to apply for a refund is untrue.
If you do click the refund button, you will be taken to a fraudulent webpage that closely resembles the genuine TV Licensing website. A form on the fake site will ask you to provide your name, address, and contact details along with your credit card numbers.
After you supply the requested information and hit the submit button, you may see a message claiming that your refund will be credited to your account within four to six weeks.
The criminals behind the phishing attack can now collect the information you supplied and use it to commit fraudulent transactions with your credit card. They may also attempt to steal your identity using the personal and financial information they have gathered.
If you receive this email, do not click any links or open any attachments that it contains.
For information about TV licensing in the UK, refer to the official TV Licensing website.
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