Texts asking you to apply for the £400 discount on energy bills are scams, the Government warns.
The Energy Bills Support scheme discount is taken off your bill directly in instalments between October 2022 and March 2023, or if you use a pre-payment meter it will be added as credit or you will be sent vouchers from your supplier.
Nobody needs to apply for the scheme and texts claiming to be from GOV.UK asking you to apply are fake. Known as 'phishing', they link to dodgy websites in a bid to steal your private information like bank details and passwords.
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A Government spokesperson in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, who runs the Energy Bills Support Scheme, confirmed to ChronicleLive that it does not send SMS text messages to people to ask them to apply for the scheme.
They said: “Nobody needs to apply for the Energy Bills Support Scheme. Most customers will receive payments automatically through their electricity bill and customers on pre-payment meters will receive a credit or vouchers direct from their electricity supplier.
“Consumers should stay alert to potential scams and report them when they are suspected. In all cases, no household should be asked for bank details at any point.”
Many of the scam texts claim to be from GOV.UK. One sent from a +44 7703 mobile number reads: "GOV.UK: You are eligible for a discounted energy bill under the Energy Support Scheme: You can apply here" followed by a web link with "mysupport.scheme" in the URL.
Other scam texts are worded similarly and include URLs like "rebate.energy-claims" and "energy-bill-online.com".
BEIS adds: "The discount is automatic. If you get a message telling you that you need to apply, or asking for your bank or credit card details, this could be a scam."
If you get one of the texts, the Government advises you to forward it to 7726. Suspicious emails can be sent to report@phishing.gov.uk .
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