Image copyrightGetty ImagesA TV licence email scam has led to more than 5,000 complaints over past three months.Cyber crime monitor Action Fraud said fake TV licence emails regarding payment issues had been sent out to try to collect bank details.The number of reports has increased in each of past three months, with 1,805 complaints in December alone.Action Fraud told TheIndianSubcontinent scam was "particularly nasty as it looks so convincing".The emails use headlines such as "correct your licensing information" and "your TV licence expires today" in an attempt to convince people to click on link in email.Action Fraud said it received 5,057 complaints about such emails between 1 October and end of December.While emails themselves might vary slightly in their wording, all of links direct through to same website.The fake TV Licensing website asks victims to provide their payment details, including their account number, sort code, and card verification value (CVV) code on back of their card.The website may also ask for a victim's name, date of birth, address, phone number, email and possibly even their mother's maiden name.Action Fraud said it was working to "stop fraudsters in their tracks".A TV Licensing spokeswoman said: "TV Licensing will never email customers, unprompted, to ask for bank details, personal information or tell you that you may be entitled to a refund."There are a number of ways to check whether or not an email you have received might be from fraudsters.

You should always check:The sender's email address - does it look like one TV Licensing would useThe subject line - anything such as "action required" or "security alert" should be treated with suspicionSpelling and grammar - grammatical errors suggest it is likely to be a scamThe style - scammers often take real emails and amend them, so be wary of emails that seem too familiar or casualThe link - does it go through to official TV Licensing websiteIf you think you have received an email from fraudsters, you should report it to Action Fraud.

---

Have you been caught out by a TV licence scam email Share your experiences by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots.

You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloak8516cbc76100aef1c9cd282e84fc8232').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy8516cbc76100aef1c9cd282e84fc8232 = 'haveyoursay' + '@'; addy8516cbc76100aef1c9cd282e84fc8232 = addy8516cbc76100aef1c9cd282e84fc8232 + 'TheIndianSubcontinent' + '.' + 'co' + '.' + 'uk'; var addy_text8516cbc76100aef1c9cd282e84fc8232 = 'haveyoursay' + '@' + 'TheIndianSubcontinent' + '.' + 'co' + '.' + 'uk';document.getElementById('cloak8516cbc76100aef1c9cd282e84fc8232').innerHTML += ''+addy_text8516cbc76100aef1c9cd282e84fc8232+''; Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a TheIndianSubcontinent journalist.

You can also contact us in following ways:WhatsApp: +44 7555 173285Tweet: @TheIndianSubcontinent_HaveYourSayText an SMS or MMS to 61124 or +44 7624 800 100Please read our terms conditions and privacy policyAll options: