The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued a new phone scam warning concerning National Insurance (NI) numbers. It has been over a year since the last spate of scams involving NI numbers swept across the country, resulting in tens of thousands of incidents being reported to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, by June 2021.
Everyone in the UK is sent a National Insurance number automatically just before their 16th birthday if their parents or guardians are receiving Child Benefit for their care. This number helps identify you on UK and Scottish Government systems, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the DWP and Social Security Scotland.
However, the number of scam phone calls appears to be on the rise again as the DWP has issued a video via its official Twitter account reminding people that it never uses an automated call system to contact customers - and if you receive such a call, it’s probably a scam.
