Scottish households have been urged to look out for scams as cost-of-living support payments of £324 start arriving in bank accounts today.
Around 689,000 households in Scotland will automatically receive the money, which is part of a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) package for those on means-tested benefits.
The payments are made directly into recipients’ bank accounts, with no need to apply or do anything, meaning Scots should not respond to scam texts or emails asking people to fill out application forms.
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This comes as there has been an influx of reports of scam texts, emails, and calls from people taking advantage of the cost of living crisis. In the same way, we saw fake texts asking for money for covid tests, scammers are once again trying to catch people out.
Some examples of texts that have been reported are messages which look like they are from DWP, asking for individual bank details to confirm where they'd like the payment made.
The DWP took to social media and said: "Watch out for scammers targeting people about #CostOfLiving Payments
"If you're eligible
- You do not need to apply for the payment
- You do not need to call us
- Payment to you is automatic
- We will never ask for personal details by SMS or email"
Advice Direct Scotland, which runs the national consumeradvice.scot service, urged people to report any suspected scams to its scamwatch service, with the organisation able to then share this information with the authorities.
Conor Forbes, director of policy with Advice Direct Scotland, said: “Hundreds of thousands of Scots households will start receiving the cost-of-living support payment, and it’s vital to remember that this will happen automatically.
“There is no application form to fill out for the money. Sadly, we know that scammers have repeatedly tried to capitalise on the cost-of-living crisis, so people should be alert to emails and texts asking for personal information in relation to the payments – the DWP will not do this.
“Anyone who is caught out by a scam, or spots a suspected scam, should report it by using our free scamwatch tool at www.consumeradvice.scot.”
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