After a spate of scams over the summer, fraudsters are once again randomly targeting people with nonsense texts, pretending they are the Department for Work and Pensions, and claiming ‘our records indicate that you have not applied for the winter heating subsidy’.

Not only are the scammers hounding people with false claims, they have the gall to say the winter fuel payment is a ‘300 subsidy’, not even remembering to put the pound sign in.

The text messages tells recipients to complete an application by 5 December online via a dodgy URL address – dwpty.top/gov

They add failure to do so ‘will result in your loss of subsidy eligibility’. This is just nonsense.

The latest scam texts are being sent from a 352 dialling country code, which is Luxembourg, but mostly these scammers use fake numbers on the texts to mislead their targets.

DWP issued a warning to pensioners in October about the scam texts and urged people to ignore them as the winter fuel payment is paid automatically by the government.

Pat McFadden, work and pensions secretary, said: ‘If you get a text message about Winter Fuel Payments, it’s a scam. They will be made automatically so you do not need to apply.

‘These despicable attempts by criminals to target people are on the rise. We are raising awareness to make it harder for fraudsters to succeed.

‘If you receive a suspicious message about Winter Fuel Payments, don’t engage - forward it to 7726 and delete it immediately.’

Data from HMRC showed reports of scam texts more than doubled in the last week of September when compared to the previous week, with no sign the scammers are letting up now we enter December.

The first payments started going out last month and they are automatically paid into the bank accounts of state pensioners over the age of 65. The payments have always been automatic, but scammers spotted an opportunity when the government stopped making the payments to the majority of pensioners last year, before u-turning on the measure over the summer.

Jonathan Silvester, HMRC’s digital defence lead, said: ‘Scammers target individuals by attempting to take your money or access your personal information. I’m urging you to stay alert to their pressure tactics.

‘Never let yourself be rushed. If someone contacts you relating to Winter Fuel Payments, wanting you to urgently transfer money or give personal information, be on your guard. If a phone call, text or email is suspicious or unexpected, don’t give out private information or reply, and don’t download attachments or click on links.’

Anyone receiving a spam text about the winter fuel payment should ignore it completely, never click on any links and forward it by text to 7726 for the government spam team to investigate.