Child Benefit Scam
A scam impersonating a government child benefit or family payment scheme, aimed at parents, to steal personal and banking information or extract a processing fee.
Last reviewed: 5 July 2026
Because child benefit and family allowance payments are widely claimed and recur monthly, they make an effective and broadly applicable pretext for scam messages. A text or email claims there is a problem with the recipient's child benefit claim, an increase has been approved and needs 'activating', or eligibility rules have changed and the claim must be reconfirmed, with a link to a fake portal or a phone number to call.
Parents who are genuinely juggling childcare and finances may respond quickly to anything suggesting a threat to household income, which is exactly what makes this scam effective. As with other benefit-impersonation scams, the tell is the same: real family benefit agencies communicate changes and issues through the claimant's existing account or official mail, not through a link in an unsolicited text demanding immediate reconfirmation of bank details.
Sources
- SSA OIG — Scam Alert — Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General
- Action Fraud — Cost of Living Payment Scams — Action Fraud (UK national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre, now Report Fraud) — Published by Action Fraud, the service Report Fraud replaced in December 2025; the alert is no longer available online.
- MoneyHelper — Universal Credit Scams — MoneyHelper (Money and Pensions Service, UK government-backed)
- FTC — How to Avoid a Government Impersonation Scam — Federal Trade Commission