I received a perfectly valid looking reminder telling me that my TV licence was due within 7 days. It had the correct logo etc, plus a licence number - in fact it look real. I happened to know my licence was not due until November, and after double checking this, reported it. But if I hadn't known, or if it happened to be around the correct due date, I would have just paid. Beware.
I got one saying that I owed them £12, as it's on a DD I knew this to be untrue, I do tend to assume that anything that comes on an email claiming that I owe money is a scam.
Have had this one about my TV licence. As I pay annually by DD I figured it was a scam. Some scams are becoming quite sophisticated so it pays to be on your toes and question everything.
Another golden rule is, You have to be in it to win it. The number of times I have been told I have won large sums of money in competitions I have never entered...………………………..
As regards TV Licences; most folk know when and how much they pay, either on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis, so I wouldn't have thought that this particular scam was all that lucrative.
Ken4155, I receive an email once a year, and pay for the full year. I am not daft, and am aware of scams but I imagine a lot of people who pay like this have no real idea when it is due. The real email is almost the same as the false one.
It must be fairly easy for the authorities trying to prevent such scams to ‘fall for this scam’ and follow the money, and have those responsible brought to justice. Since they cannot manage this simple task, there is not much hope that such scams will be ending anytime soon.