Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.

TV License Scam Email Messages
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.
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