{"id":15850,"date":"2025-09-16T09:24:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T09:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/?page_id=15850"},"modified":"2025-09-16T09:24:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T09:24:13","slug":"dwp-winter-fuel-payment-scam-alert-how-to-spot-fake-texts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/?page_id=15850","title":{"rendered":"DWP Winter Fuel Payment Scam Alert: How to Spot Fake Texts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img class=\"Sirv\" data-src=\"https:\/\/chartakelay.sirv.com\/Images\/16%209\/u.jpg\" alt=\"\"><br \/>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/scripts.sirv.com\/sirvjs\/v3\/sirv.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/?page_id=15847\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/6666-6-1-3-768x960-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"960\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15650\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/6666-6-1-3-768x960-3.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/6666-6-1-3-768x960-3-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Many pensioners have recently reported receiving suspicious text messages claiming to be from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about Winter Fuel Payments (WFP). These messages are scams, and recipients are warned not to click any links or provide personal details.<\/p>\n<p>How to Identify a Fake DWP Text<br \/>\nThe DWP does not send texts asking you to claim Winter Fuel Payments.<\/p>\n<p>Genuine WFPs are paid automatically if you\u2019re eligible.<\/p>\n<p>Scammers exploit confusion over recent rule changes\u2014never respond to unsolicited messages.<\/p>\n<p>According to HMRC, over 4,000 fraudulent websites related to Winter Fuel Payments have already been taken down this year.<\/p>\n<p>For official guidance, visit GOV.UK\u2019s scam reporting page.<\/p>\n<p>How Winter Fuel Payments Actually Work in 2025<br \/>\n1. Who Gets Paid Automatically?<br \/>\nIf you\u2019re over State Pension age and already claiming your State Pension or Pension Credit, you do not need to apply\u2014payment is automatic.<\/p>\n<p>The only exception is if you\u2019ve never claimed your State Pension but are eligible.<\/p>\n<p>2. New Tax Rule for Higher Earners<br \/>\nIf your annual income exceeds \u00a335,000, you may receive a tax bill for your WFP.<\/p>\n<p>The government plans to introduce an opt-out system, but details are still pending.<\/p>\n<p>3. What to Do If You Get a Suspicious Text<br \/>\nDo not click any links.<\/p>\n<p>Forward the message to 7726 (a free scam-reporting service).<\/p>\n<p>Check your bank account for unusual activity.<\/p>\n<p>Report phishing attempts via Action Fraud.<\/p>\n<p>For more on pension scams, read Which?\u2019s guide to avoiding fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Why Are Scammers Targeting Winter Fuel Payments?<br \/>\nRecent changes to WFP rules have caused confusion:<\/p>\n<p>Pre-2024: Payments were automatic for State Pension recipients.<\/p>\n<p>2024: Only Pension Credit claimants received WFPs.<\/p>\n<p>2025 onwards: The system reverted to automatic payments for most pensioners.<\/p>\n<p>Scammers exploit this back-and-forth to trick people into &#8220;claiming&#8221; payments that require no action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many pensioners have recently reported receiving suspicious text messages claiming to be from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15848,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_keywords":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15850","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15850"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15851,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15850\/revisions\/15851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}