How a TV License scam stole £10,000 from UK couple

Professional cyber crooks managed to steal £10,000 from a couple in Hampshire, UK, by claiming they needed to renew their TV license. This is how it happened and how you can spot this scam.

It started with an email that landed in the inbox of Jerry Tack, apparently from the TV licensing company claiming the TV licence needed to be renewed. Failing to renew a TV license can result in hefty fines, and the email provided a link for Jerry to click to enter all of his details.

But the email wasn’t from the TV licensing company, and the website that Jerry landed on didn’t belong to the TV licensing company either. It was a spoof website designed to capture and steal all of Jerry’s details and send them to crooks.

It’s a phishing scam, and Jerry had already given crooks enough information to steal money from his bank account. But the crooks were not finished with Jerry just yet.

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Two days after clicking the link and entering his details, Jerry got a phone call from someone claiming to be from his bank, Nationwide, who told him that his bank account was at risk from scammers. The man on the phone knew Jerry’s name, his bank details and even his personal information, and he was urging Jerry to move his money to a “safe bank account” belonging to his bank.

But this was a scammer as well, who had obtained Jerry’s details when he filled in the form two days prior and was using those details to appear legitimate. Believing the man on the phone, Jerry agreed to transfer his money, and while on the phone, Jerry received a SMS message from Nationwide containing a security code. The man on the phone asked for the code, and Jerry complied.

The SMS code was a security feature implemented by Nationwide which the crooks needed to empty Jerry’s bank account, which they did as soon as Jerry gave it to them. The scammer also tricked Jerry into using his authorisation card reader to authorise another payment from his current account, all under the ruse that Jerry was protecting his money from fraudsters.

These scams are particularly dangerous and extremely convincing. The emails and the website posing as the TV licensing company appear legitimate, and the subsequent phone call is also convincing since the person on the other end of the phone will be in possession of all your banking details, including what bank you’re with.

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But you can avoid these scams. Here are the red flags in the story above.

– The TV licensing company does not ask people, unprompted, via email for their bank details.

– Always be sceptical of links in emails and avoid clicking them when possible. Instead, go directly to the correct website by typing it in your address bar. You can find the correct address on any literature or use Google.

– If you do click on a link, check the web address URL at the top of the page to make sure it is the correct one. Remember that just because the website itself looks legitimate, it doesn’t mean it is.

– Never agree to move your money to a “safe account” to protect it from fraudsters. Banks will not ask you to do this.

– Never share a security code sent to your phone, since these are only meant to be seen by you.

– If in doubt, phone the relevant company directly. In this case this could have been the TV licensing company, or subsequently the bank. If in doubt, do not respond to emails or unexpected phone calls.