Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.
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TV License Scam Email Messages

TV Licensing scam emails often claim your payment failed, your license is expiring, or you are owed a refund, using urgent language to steal personal and financial information. Key indicators include suspicious sender addresses, generic greetings like "Dear Customer," and links to fake websites. Do not click links; forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Spotting a Fake Email

Use these checks to verify any message you receive:

  • Sender's Email Address: Genuine emails are sent only from donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk or donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk. Be wary of "spoofed" addresses that look similar but have slight spelling differences.
  • Personalisation: A real email will almost always include your last name and title (if provided) and/or part of your postcode. Scams often use generic greetings like "Dear Customer" or "Dear Client".
  • Urgent or "Too Good" Requests: Scammers frequently claim there is an "issue with your payment" or offer a "refund" to create urgency. TV Licensing will never email you unprompted to ask for bank details or offer a refund via email.
  • Spelling & Grammar: Look for awkward phrasing, random capitalisation, or the American spelling of "license" (with an 's') instead of the British "licence".
  • Suspicious Links: Hover over links (without clicking) to see the actual web address. Genuine links will always go to www.tvlicensing.co.uk or spp.tvlicensing.co.uk.

What to Do Next

  1. Do not click any links: Never enter personal or financial information on a site reached via an email link.
  2. Verify independently: To check your status safely, go directly to the official TV Licensing website and sign in to your account.
  3. Report the email: Forward the suspicious message to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) at report@phishing.gov.uk.
  4. If you've already shared details: Contact your bank immediately and report the incident to Action Fraud (the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime) or call 0300 123 2040.