Winter Fuel Payment Scams Already on the Rise - Here's How to Avoid Them
- The UK government reinstated Winter Fuel Payments of £200 to £300 to all pensioners, including those in Northern Ireland, in 2025.
- This reversal followed political campaigns and partial mitigation actions after earlier cuts, which had planned to restrict payments to pensioners on benefits only.
- Eligible pensioners will receive payments automatically without application, but those earning over £35,000 will have the payment clawed back through HMRC tax recovery.
- Officials warned scammers exploit such announcements with fake DWP messages urging pensioners to 'apply now' and provide banking details, while genuine payments require no action or data submission.
- Authorities urged pensioners to report fraud attempts to Action Fraud and emphasized the importance of not sharing personal or bank details to avoid scams.
34 Articles
34 Articles

Winter Fuel Payment scams already on the rise - here's how to avoid them
Winter fuel payment changes have been welcomed, but there are already a wave of scams to steal pensioners' money
Stormont must immediately extend Labour’s winter fuel U-turn to pensioners in Northern Ireland
Responding to the UK government’s decision to partially reverse the cut in winter fuel payments, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Commonsense has finally prevailed as the winter fuel cut is reversed for most pensioners in England and Wales. We now need to see this reversed in Northern Ireland and Scotland. We are calling for the Stormont Executive to immediately extend this commitment to pensioners in the region as part of a wider r…
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