If your parents receive the Winter Fuel Payment, there's a scam currently doing the rounds that's worth a two-minute conversation with them. HMRC has logged more than 25,000 scam referrals connected to the Winter Fuel Payment over the past year, and the recent changes to how the payment works have given scammers exactly the kind of confusing, money-related story they thrive on.
Why this scam works so well
The Winter Fuel Payment rules have genuinely changed, and some people genuinely do have the payment recovered through the tax system. That kernel of truth is what makes the fake version convincing: when a text arrives saying "you need to repay your Winter Fuel Payment — click here to arrange it," it doesn't sound implausible. It sounds like the sort of thing that's been on the news.
The messages arrive by text, email, and sometimes phone call, claiming to be from HMRC. They ask the recipient to click a link to "repay," to "confirm eligibility," or to provide bank details for the process. The link leads to a convincing fake HMRC page that harvests personal and banking details.
The one rule that cuts through all of it
HMRC will never contact anyone by text or email about repaying their Winter Fuel Payment, and will never ask for bank details this way.
That's it. There's no judgement call to make, no "but what if this one's real?" — any text or email about repaying the Winter Fuel Payment is a scam, every time.
For anyone who does need to repay, the real process happens quietly through the tax system: for most people it's collected automatically through a change to their PAYE tax code, and for those who complete Self Assessment it appears on the tax return. Nobody needs to click anything in a message.
What to do with a suspicious message
- Texts claiming to be from HMRC can be forwarded free to 60599
- Emails can be forwarded to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk
- Any suspicious text can also go to the general reporting number 7726
- If details or bank information have already been shared, contact the bank immediately using the number on the back of the card, and report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040
If you're not sure how to have this conversation without alarming anyone, our guide to checking a suspicious message with a parent walks through it step by step — including what to do if a link has already been clicked.
The pattern behind it
The Winter Fuel scam is a textbook example of how modern scams work: take a genuine, well-publicised change; add a plausible reason money needs to move; deliver it with official branding and a deadline. The same template is currently being used for the landline switchover, council tax rebates, and energy support schemes. Teaching the pattern protects against all of them at once — teaching individual scams only protects against yesterday's.
A second pair of eyes, any time
The safest habit a parent can build is checking before clicking — but that only works if there's always someone to check with. Ivy by WorryLess is a voice-first assistant your parent can simply talk to when a message like this arrives: they read it out or describe it, and Ivy explains in plain English whether it matches a known scam pattern and what to do with it.
If this sounds like something your parent could use, Ivy by WorryLess is now in early access. Find out more.