Images of the latest online scams targeting motorists have been revealed by DVLA to help drivers spot and report them quickly.
The scams ask drivers to verify their driving licence details, offer vehicle tax refunds, highlight a failed vehicle tax payment and ask for bank details.
This comes as new figures released by the agency for the 3 months to September this year, show a 603% increase in reports to their contact centre of fraudulent emails, texts and phone calls, compared to the same period in 2019.
Public reports of email scams saw the biggest rise from July to September 2020 compared with same 3 months last year, jumping from 603 to 3,807 – an increase of 531%.
DVLA is reminding customers they should report any suspicious emails they receive to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) through their suspicious email service.
In contrast, reports of fraudulent texts decreased from a total of 653 between July and September 2019, to 510 in the same period this year. The NCSC encourages customers to forward suspicious text messages to their network provider to investigate, on 7726 free of charge.
Customers are advised the only place to access official information on DVLA and its services is GOV.UK. The agency never asks for bank details over email and never sends text messages about vehicle tax refunds.
As well as forwarding any suspicious emails and texts, DVLA has 5 top tips for motorists to stay safe online:
- never share driving licence images and vehicle documents online
- never share bank details or personal data online
- avoid websites offering to connect to DVLA’s contact centre
- only use GOV.UK when looking for DVLA contact details
- immediately report it to the police through Action Fraud if you think you’ve been the victim of a scam