I received a DWP text about claiming Winter Fuel Payment - is it real? STEVE WEBB issues scam alert
I got my hopes up this week as I received a text from them but it turned out to be a reminder to claim my winter heating allowance. Can you help?
Steve Webb replies: I was concerned to read you have received a text pretending to be from DWP in connection with 'claiming' your Winter Fuel Payment.
I can confirm this is a scam and you should not click on links or provide any personal details in response to a message like this.
According to HMRC there is a huge amount of scam activity going on around Winter Fuel Payments, and they have already removed more than 4,000 fake websites on the subject.
The people who send these messages are preying on the public's confusion about all the chopping and changing of the rules around Winter Fuel Payments, so in this column I'll set out how the system will work this year and what you need to do to make sure you get your payment.
Prior to 2024, you did not have to do anything to get a Winter Fuel Payment.
As soon as you reached state pension age and started claiming your state pension you would automatically receive your WFP, provided you were over pension age in the relevant week in September.
The only people who needed to claim a WFP were those who were over state pension age but had not yet claimed their state pension.
All that changed for the winter of 2024 when the Government decided to limit WFPs to those claiming Pension Credit.
In this case, to get a Winter Fuel Payment you needed to make a successful claim to Pension Credit, and the WFP would then be paid automatically.
Since then, the rules have changed again.
In essence, in terms of the claims process, the system has gone back to the way that it used to be.
For Winter 2025 and beyond, anyone over state pension age and claiming their state pension age will receive a WFP automatically *without the need to make a claim*.
This is how we know that the text you received was a fake.
What has changed this year is that where HMRC has information that someone getting a Winter Fuel Payment has an annual income over £35,000, they will then be issued with a tax bill for the amount of their WFP.
The Government has said that if people on higher incomes decide that they would prefer not to receive a WFP then there will be a process by which people can 'opt out' of the whole thing.
However, no details have yet been published about how this will work.
Going back to the text message that you received, if you have supplied any personal information by clicking on a link in that text then you will need to be especially careful about any future contacts you might get which could be from the scammers.
In particular, you should not respond to any further texts you receive and not supply any further personal information or pay any money.
You should also keep a close eye on your bank account and contact your bank if there is any suspicious activity.
The gov.uk website provides information about how you can report scam messages like this and fight back against the scammers: Avoid and report internet scams and phishing.
As you will see, in the case of a scam text message you can forward the message you received to 7726, and this will alert the mobile phone company who can help to protect other people from being scammed in future.
Ask Steve Webb a pension question
Former pensions minister Steve Webb is This Is Money's agony uncle.
He is ready to answer your questions, whether you are still saving, in the process of stopping work, or juggling your finances in retirement.
Steve left the Department for Work and Pensions after the May 2015 election. He is now a partner at actuary and consulting firm Lane Clark & Peacock.
If you would like to ask Steve a question about pensions, please email him at pensionquestions@thisismoney.co.uk.
Steve will do his best to reply to your message in a forthcoming column, but he won't be able to answer everyone or correspond privately with readers. Nothing in his replies constitutes regulated financial advice. Published questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons.
Please include a daytime contact number with your message - this will be kept confidential and not used for marketing purposes.
If Steve is unable to answer your question, you can also contact MoneyHelper, a Government-backed organisation which gives free assistance on pensions to the public. It can be found here and its number is 0800 011 3797.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Moment police snare suspects after £100k Apple device raid on phone shop
This is the moment police found a haul of Apple devices worth nearly £100,000 in the back seat of a car after masked raiders hit a phone shop in central London. Officers were called to reports of a burglary at the O2 store in Tottenham Court Road on 24 July, where a gang reportedly entered the shop wearing balaclavas and made off with around 100 iPhones and scores of Apple Watches. Three men aged 25, 24, and 18 were arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary minutes later in nearby Cranleigh Street. A search on the car also uncovered a large machete. All three remain in custody.
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Devon and Cornwall crime commissioner sorry for multiple bodies claim
A police and crime commissioner has apologised for claiming that multiple human remains had been discovered in woodland in Cornwall at the centre of a murder investigation. Alison Hernandez told a meeting of the Devon and Cornwall police and crime panel that 'dead bodies' had been found at Sticker, near St Austell, and investigations were continuing to establish exactly how many. Devon and Cornwall police said in response that the body of one man had been recovered from woods and no other remains had been found. Police and forensic experts have been carrying out extensive inquiries in the woodland since the discovery of the body of 43-year-old Daniel Coleman. James Desborough, 39, is accused of murdering Coleman, from St Austell, between 2 June and 7 July. He is due back before Truro crown court next month. Hernandez said on Friday evening: 'In trying to be helpful I responded to an operational question at the police and crime panel, however, I was not fully up to date with the facts of the investigation. 'I apologise for any alarm this may have caused. The police have operational primacy over these matters.' Det Supt Jon Bancroft, with Devon and Cornwall police, said: 'We currently have three separate murder investigations being conducted in the Cornwall area. 'I have oversight of all of these investigations at this time, and can confirm they are being carried out independently of each other and are not believed to be linked. 'I can categorically state that we have recovered remains believed to be those of Daniel Coleman only from an area of woodland in Sticker.' Police are also investigating the discovery of the body of Lee Hockey, 50, who was found in separate woodland between Truro and Probus on 1 July. A third murder inquiry is under way after a fatal fire at a residential property in Newquay on 22 July. The body of a man in his 30s was found in the property, with a 33-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Police chief apologises for claiming multiple bodies had been found in a murder probe after two bodies were discovered within 10 miles of each other
A police and crime commissioner has apologised after claiming multiple bodies had been found in a murder probe after two bodies were discovered within 10 miles of each other. Two murder investigations were launched in Cornwall after two bodies were found in separate woodlands. Earlier this month, Daniel Coleman's remains were found in Paramoor Woods near the Cornish village of Sticker. Officers had been scouring the area for several months - aided by specialist teams from the National Crime Agency - when they found the 43-year-old's remains. Mr Coleman vanished last month from St Austell and is thought to have died between June 2 and July 7. A man has been charged with his murder. The body of Lee Hockey, 50, was also found in a nearby woodland between Truro and Probus on July 1. Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, previously told a panel several bodies were discovered as part of the investigation into Mr Coleman's death. 'We've found dead bodies in that wood,' Ms Hernandez said, adding that officers were trying to work out 'how many were there'. The Police and Crime Commissioner has since issued an apology after these claims were refuted by the local police force. Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: 'In trying to be helpful I responded to an operational question at the Police and Crime Panel today, however, I was not fully up to date with the facts of the investigation. I apologise for any alarm this may have caused. 'The police have operational primacy over these matters. Any investigation will unfold rapidly and I was not in possession of all the facts at that time.' Detective Superintendent Jon Bancroft previously confirmed Mr Hockey's death is being investigated separately. 'We currently have three separate murder investigations being conducted in the Cornwall area,' Mr Bancroft said, referring to a third inquiry which was launched after a fatal fire at a residential property in Newquay on July 22. He continued: 'I have oversight of all of these investigations at this time, and can confirm they are being carried out independently of each other and are not believed to be linked. 'I can categorically state that we have recovered remains believed to be those of Daniel Coleman only from an area of woodland in Sticker. No other remains have been located at this scene to date.' It comes after Ms Hernandez said it had been necessary to bring in extra support to aid the investigation. 'Some of the elements of that operation I can't speak about but some of the things are very obvious,' she said. 'As you know there is a large crime scene that has been identified in Cornwall that is requiring a lot of effort to even scene guard the area. 'The level of expertise, some of the mutual aid we've brought in, is expertise in specific types of investigations that we didn't have. 'The National Crime Agency is supporting the organisation at the moment. 'I want to thank all the other forces that are coming in at a very busy time for themselves to offer mutual aid. It's largely investigative mutual aid that we've brought in. 'Until some of those elements have been established of exactly what we're dealing with there, it will be made public at that time. 'I know there's been some information in the media. We've got a huge forensic tent down there.' Mr Coleman was reported missing on June 1. James Desborough, 39, of Lower Sticker, has been charged with his murder. Desborough has since appeared before Bodmin Magistrates' Court and was remanded in custody. He is due to appear before Truro Crown Court on August 8. When asked 10 days ago about 'multiple bodies' in the search area, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were working to recover Mr Coleman's body and that forensic investigations of the site related to him. The third murder inquiry follows a fatal fire at a residential property in Newquay on July 22. The body of a man in his 30s was found in the property and a 33-year-old man from Bolton was arrested on suspicion of murder.
