Every winter the same messages arrive: apply now for your winter payment, confirm your bank details, you owe money back. They borrow the names of real schemes, such as the Winter Fuel Payment, because those names are already trusted.
The payment is automatic, so a request to apply is a scam
The Department for Work and Pensions said in October 2025 that Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically, and that the government will never ask for bank details by text (GOV.UK, checked 1 November 2026). A message asking you to apply, register or confirm your details is not from the government.
The same message quotes the Work and Pensions Secretary’s advice in full: do not engage, forward the message to 7726 and delete it immediately. Our page on who qualifies for the Winter Fuel Payment explains who gets it and how it arrives.
Messages saying you have to pay it back
A second wave of scams uses the income-based repayment. Some people above an income threshold have their payment recovered, and fraudsters exploit that. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says it will never contact people by text or email to ask them to repay their Winter Fuel Payment, or to request bank details (GOV.UK, Pensioners urged to be alert to Winter Fuel Payment scams, checked 1 November 2026).
HMRC gives its own number for suspicious texts claiming to be from it: forward them to 60599. A genuine repayment is dealt with through the tax system, not through a link in a message.
Energy scams using Ofgem’s name
The energy regulator is impersonated too, by callers offering cheaper energy or a rebate. Ofgem says it will never sell you energy, ask for personal information or your personal bank details, or come to your property (Ofgem, Contact us, checked 1 November 2026). A caller who claims to be from Ofgem and offers to sell you energy is not genuine.
The Warm Home Discount is applied by your electricity supplier to your bill, not paid by a caller. Our page on the Warm Home Discount explains how it genuinely reaches you, which is the best defence against a caller who says otherwise.
Forward scam texts to 7726
Reporting a text takes seconds and costs nothing. GOV.UK says to forward suspicious text messages to 7726, which is free and reports the message to your mobile phone provider (GOV.UK, Report internet scams and phishing, checked 1 November 2026). Then delete it. Reporting helps even when you were not fooled.
Suspicious emails go to a different address. GOV.UK says to forward them to report@phishing.gov.uk, where the National Cyber Security Centre looks at them (GOV.UK, Report internet scams and phishing, checked 1 November 2026). Neither route needs you to have lost anything first.
If money has been taken
Speed matters more than anything else here. Call your bank first, using the number on the back of your card or on a statement, never a number from the message, so it can try to stop the payment. Then report the crime.
GOV.UK says to contact Report Fraud if you think you have lost money or been hacked because of a scam and you are in England or Wales, by calling 0300 123 2040 (GOV.UK, Report internet scams and phishing, checked 1 November 2026). Report Fraud also covers Northern Ireland (Report Fraud, checked 1 November 2026). In Scotland, GOV.UK says to report the crime to Police Scotland, whose non-emergency number is 101 (Police Scotland, checked 1 November 2026).
Helping a parent spot them
Scam messages are designed to look official, and nobody should feel foolish for being caught. What helps most is a single rule agreed in advance: no genuine winter payment ever needs a reply, a link, a phone call or bank details. Anything that asks for one of those gets checked with a family member first.
Write the numbers down where they can be found quickly: 7726 for texts, the bank’s own number, and Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or 101 in Scotland. A parent who has been scammed may also be targeted again, so tell the bank what happened even if no money was lost.