I suspect few here would think this was genuine, but there are likely to be many older people concerned about heating who might well fall for it - wasn’t aware of this particular scam before. May be worth alerting family members.
Why not have it as a news story on BBC/ITV/Radio? (Maybe it has been, but surely it’s something our national broadcaster should be interested in conveying to their audience?)
The very demographic targeted by the scam will include many people who don’t even use social media, and surely it should say X not Twitter.
I’ve heard about this a few times on Radio 4. Everyone eligible gets the payment automatically. What many probably don’t realise is that if they earn more than £35,000 the payment will be recovered through tax the following year. They can of course opt out of getting the payment in the first place, but I suspect many don’t realise that either. We went out for dinner with friends the other night and they thought they wouldn’t get their allowance as they are over the limit, which surprised me as they are generally pretty clued up.
Maybe you are underestimating older people, I play pétanque with some over 80s and they are dab hands at social media.
Yes, you’re correct that income above 35k will lead to HMRC reclaiming it if you haven’t opted out.
Appreciate many older people will be fine with computers/smartphones/social media but there will be many (perhaps a significant minority) who are less comfortable with tech matters and could fall for it.
I’m just raising awareness of it really in case others have or manage the affairs of vulnerable older relatives as I’d not heard of it before.
That’s true, but this one seems quite unpleasant as it targets older people specifically and winter heating is a perennial hot topic for anyone struggling to make ends meet.
I rarely watch TV or listen to the radio, so it probably wouldn’t get the message across to me were I eligible for it.
The BBC is the UK’s public service broacaster and should be doing a lot more public service warnings instead of spending £10 millions for each episode of Dr Who!
You illustrate perfectly the bind that the BBC finds itself in. Its funding is dependent on making popular programmes that have the quality to compete with the likes of Netflix - to do so is expensive. If they don’t produce such programmes, the politicians will argue that the BBC’s funding should be further reduced and the institution will spiral down.
We all have our own preferences and it’s a bit silly to pick on one particular programme. You may as well say they shouldn’t show East Enders, or not show any cricket. Anyway, the Doctor Who episodes that cost £10m were made in partnership with Disney, so you can be sure that much of the cost was met by them.
Back to the scam, a quick Google will show that it has been publicised by countless organisations, from the Government itself to local authorities, housing providers, newspapers and money advice organisations.
The BBC’s primary funding is the mandatory license fee, that derived from commercial operations and some government funding for the world service.
Two of the BBC’s key objectives are to provide impartial news and information and to support learning for people of all ages. I think it should focus more on public information features.
Reference to Dr Who was merely illustrative of the poor financial controls and choices made at the BBC, whether with Disney or not.
If we’re having a thread diversion to slag the Beeb can I have a bitch about Radio 5 Live Sports Extra being monopolised by cricket for 6 months of the year - even when other sports are having major events concurrently
Maybe as I’m not yet in the relevant demographic age group I hadn’t encountered it through more targeted media outlets or organisations. These crooks really are immoral rascals though.
They pray on peoples vulnerability. Presenting “ facts” that are not. If im in the mood, I like to waste their time, hopefully they can talk to me rather than someone who night fall for their bo11ox.
I think as a society we’ve potentially suffered from the lack of short public information films in recent decades such as ones countering littering or educating kids how to use road crossing variants properly. Unfortunately as CliveB mentions the BBC has to compete with all manner of streaming services to keep part of the audience share and I think things I have a bit of nostalgia for personally would make many viewers switch to watching something else.
It’s a shame perhaps that the Dr Who joint production with Disney didn’t last, but storylines really haven’t helped in recent years being far too convoluted or preachy. I think Jodie Whittaker/Ncuti Gatwa got a really raw deal with many of the scripts/storylines. I thought Gatwa had an incredible energy and seemed a fine actor in many episodes, just that too many of the storylines probably didn’t resonate with traditional audiences despite huge sfx budgets.
Tend to agree. The BBC has to cater to a broad range of audience tastes, but I think their focus on public information films has diminished considerably, to the detriment of older people who have grown up with, reliant on, the BBC.
I’ve had a few of those dodgy emails. I have, of course, clicked on the links so kindly provided, and entered all my personal info….you may now address me as His Serene Imperial Majesty, King of Dijabringabeeralong.…….
OTOH, I got the real letter yesterday from the DWP. The first page said I’ll be getting £100. Nice, I thought.
The second page said, they’re going to take it back, via income tax. Easy come, easy go!
And as it might say in the good book, “The DWP giveth. The HMRC taketh away. Blessed be the name of West Minster” Job 1:21
1 - the scam texts are predominantly a consequence of using WhatsApp or its related apps. The ones which say they don’t share data but always have and the ones which are encrypted but not enough etc. It’s enough to have been on a page with a Facebook “Like” button or similar.
2 - it works just enough to be profitable for scammers because some people actually do have to apply for the WFP i.e. those who have either deferred their SRP (State Retirement Pension) or ought to have received it (a WFP) in a previous year but didn’t.
3 - the BBC has no role in publicising scams because not all political parties believe that it is a public service to enable the maximisation of income. This is why some governments conduct benefit take-up campaigns and some do not. I find myself harking back to a conversation with a colleague in a local authority Skills and Work team who had swallowed the “hostile environment” Kool Aid hook, line and sinker. He absolutely could not understand why I might want to help someone maximise their income by maxinimsing their benefit entitlements because this would disincentivise them for work and thus do more harm than good.
The fact that means-tested benefits are an objective right and that there is zero evidence that having enough money to live on disincentivises work absolutely evaded him.
I have no desire to start a discussion on this point as it would likely close the thread. I merely make the point that it’s a hard truth that not all politicians define public service the way one might assume.
4 - not everybody can opt out. If you’re on a qualifying benefit and have a high income ignored in calculation of same, such as money paid regularity from a discretionary trust, then it’s not straightforward to opt out at all.
5 - ironically such scams will likely proliferate more and succeed more precisely because Age UK and Independent Age are partnering with DWP to encourage take-up of Pension Credit. The unprompted contacts in consequence of that will further normalise such unprompted contacts.
