There have been recent reports, both locally and nationally, of residents receiving phone calls, texts and emails claiming you have unpaid parking fines. Some of these even claim to come from DVSA but usually they fail to identify a vehicle or location for the alleged parking offence.
They use scare tactics by claiming this is your “Final Notice” and that Legal Action may be taken if not paid immediately.
Always remember that local councils never send out messages about parking fines as parking fines are issued by civil enforcement officers who place Parking Penalty Notices (PCN) on the vehicle, or send out by Royal Mail to the address of the registered keeper.
So always check the website address which may appear to mimic an official website address but with small changes. Never click on any links in unexpected text messages or emails or follow the instructions to log into any accounts. Also never give out any personal or banking information to anyone you have doubts about
Any suspicious website can be reported to National Cyber Security Centre
Many Pay Machines in public car parks also have QR codes to scan on the side of the machine to set up payments. These can be tampered with, or covered over, with fake QR codes so always check if there are any signs that the QR label has been replaced.
Please feel free to share these messages with any vulnerable friends, relatives or neighbours
If you have fallen for a fraud,
Report it to Report Fraud (formerly known as ACTION FRAUD) on 0300 123 2040 or via reportfraud.police.uk
Scam Text messages can be forwarded to 7726 to help phone providers take early action and block numbers that generate spam on their networks. You can also report Scam mobile calls by texting 7726 with the word “Call” followed by the fraudulent caller’s phone number.
Forward Fake Emails received to report@phishing.gov.uk
If you think your bank account or personal banking details have been used fraudulently, then use the short phone number - 159 - to contact the Fraud Prevention Department of most major UK banks.