Warning over scam “Living Allowance” text message

Published Wednesday, 30th October 2024

Residents of Hartlepool are being warned to be on their guard against a scam text message purporting to be from the Government.

Hartlepool Borough Council has been contacted by a number of people who have received the unsolicited text inviting them to claim a new living allowance in place of the winter fuel allowance.

Recipients are asked to update their personal details to claim the allowance by clicking on a link, but the Council’s Trading Standards Team says the message is fake.

Councillor Karen Oliver, Chair of the Council’s Neighbourhood Services Committee which oversees Trading Standards, said: “Now that this scam has been brought to our attention, we are keen to raise wider awareness of it.

“People should always be vigilant when receiving unexpected messages, and not be tempted to respond straight away – regardless of how official the message seems to be or how threatening it is.

“Please do not click on any link as this could enable the scammers to infect your phone or device with malware that would enable them to steal confidential, personal information, including bank details.”

Trading standards officials advise people who receive the message to forward it to 7726, OFCOM’s scam call and text message reporting facility, and then delete it. Guidance on how to forward details to OFCOM can be found here.