Sheffield drivers warned about new scam

New figures show a 20 per cent rise in reports of scams made to the DVLA in the last three months of 2019. The reports of suspected web,email,text and social media scams increased to 1538 from 1275 made within the same period of 2018.

Scammers have been targeting drivers with links to services that don’t exist and messages of tax refunds, all of which are fake. The alarming reports have also shown that driver and vehicle documents are up for sale on the internet. Following reports around these figures, the DVLA have released pictures of some cons being used by scammers in order to help drivers be more aware of what to look out for.

The clear message is that, if something online appears ‘too good to be true’, then it probably is. The DVLA is appealing to anyone with experience about any calls,texts,emails and suspicious activity online, to always report these to the police via Action Fraud immediately.

DVLA Chief Information Security Officer David Pope, said: “We’ve released examples of real life scams in order to help motorists understand when a scam is at work. These websites and messages are designed to trick people into believing they can access services that simply don’t exist such as removing points from driving licenses.

“We want to protect the public and if something seems to good to be true, then it almost certainly is. The only trusted source of DVLA information is GOV.UK.

“It is also important to remember to never share images on social media that contain personal information, Such as your driving license and vehicle documents.”

A Spokesperson for Action Fraud, said: “Taking a few minutes to familiarise yourself with a few simple online safety tips can be significant in protecting yourself from becoming a victim of online fraud.

“Fraudsters are always using different ways to trick people, you should always be cautious when sharing personal information online and avoid being scammed by only using GOV.UK for government services online, such as the DVLA.”