A warning has been issued about a scam email targeting TV Licence holders. The bogus message, titled 'Your TV Licence renewal', was highlighted by barrister and former financial professional Daniel ShenSmith, who shared it on his YouTube channel after receiving it from a fan.
The email claims that a direct debit payment could not be collected and that the recipient's licence expires on 21 August 2026. It warns of a fine of up to £1,000 plus legal costs and urges the recipient to update payment details to keep the licence active. The message is signed off "Yours sincerely, TV Licensing Customer Services" and includes a purple button labelled 'View and renew online'.
How to spot the fake email
Fortunately, the person who received the email was not deceived, as they have never held a TV licence. However, ShenSmith warned that someone "in a hurry" might not realise it is fake and could end up handing over their details to fraudsters.
The legal expert pointed out several signs that the message is not genuine. The TV Licensing logo in the email is incorrect: it shows a white tick within a green circle, whereas the real logo features a blue tick on a black background. The font used for 'TV Licensing' also differs from the official one.
Another telltale sign is the 'To:' field, which shows the email was sent to 'billing@tvlicensing.co.uk'. This suggests the scammers sent it as a blind copy to many recipients, hiding who else received it.
Checking email origins
ShenSmith advised recipients to hover their mouse over the 'From' field, without clicking, to reveal the full sender address. In this case, the email came from a '.br' address, the domain for Brazil, which is unrelated to TV Licensing. The same technique can be applied to buttons within the email to see the website they link to; hovering over 'View and renew online' revealed a suspicious URL.
The YouTuber urged caution, noting that such fake emails can look "very genuine" but that "one click might cost you dearly". He added that another person had contacted him about a similar suspicious email purportedly from TV Licensing. Scam emails can be reported by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk. TV Licensing has been approached for a comment.
