National Fraud Helpline has issued an urgent warning about a parking fine text scam.
Phone users are receiving messages claiming that they need to pay a parking fine or risk losing their driving licences.
The text claims that if you fail to pay on time you will be subject to additional fines and interest and that your credit record will be affected.
A link is provided within the message that then asks you to pay £20. The concern is that if the person pays the fake fine then the scammers will not only have stolen money but have their bank details.
The fake parking fine text reads:
“Parking Charge Notice (PCN): The record shows that you have unpaid parking fines. The deadline for paying the fines is <DATE>. If you fail to pay the fines on time, you may be subject to additional fines and interest, and your credit record may also be affected. After reading this information, please enter your vehicle registration number in the following link (information inquiry is free) to view and pay the parking fines.
<LINK>
Please complete the payment immediately to avoid having your driver’s license revoked and to prevent more legal disputes. Thank you again for your cooperation.”
Martin Richardson, senior partner at National Fraud Helpline solicitors, said: “These text messages are very convincing.
“The scammers will partly be relying on people who do have outstanding parking fines being tricked into paying.
“The text threatens that you would have your driving licence revoked if you don’t pay the fake fine. This is a typical scare tactic by fraudsters. They want to panic people into clicking the link and paying the fine.
“Our advice is always to be very wary of clicking on any website links contained within messages, be they emails, WhatsApps of texts. These are known as phishing scams.”
Find out more about Phishing Scams.
Have you lost money to a scam? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.
