If you receive a text saying you’re owed money back from the DVLA it’s a fake – throw it away!
A warning is being issued to motorists in the UK after fake DVLA text messages were sent to people’s phones claiming they were owed a refund.
In the fake messages, the recipients were told they had a refund waiting for them and to click on the following link but the DVLA has posted an alert via Twitter warning drivers in the UK that this is a scam and to delete the message.
In most of the fake text messages claiming to be sent by the DVLA, people are being told they have almost £50 worth of refund to be collected and to click on a link and enter their details, however when one such message was sent to someone who didn’t even own a car, that’s when the messages were found to be false and yet another scam doing the rounds.
Warning to motorists after fake DVLA text messages sent to Brits – delete them!
DVLA say they never send out text messages or emails concerning refunds on vehicle excise duty and warn anyone who receives such a message to simply delete it.
Many of the fake messages read: “We have recalculated your vehicle tax. You are owed £48.84 due to overpayment.” Following this is a link where you can claim your refund but people are being urged not to click on the link as this will go on to ask the recipient for personal information.
It’s believed the link is possibly a “phishing” scam and definitely does not come from the DVLA’s HQ in Swansea.
These phishing scams tend to use copycat official-looking websites to hook people in and then ask you to fill in personal information such as your address and bank details before stealing them.
This new scam is just another one doing the rounds and not the first for the DVLA. Back in February, many people in the UK received threatening text messages asking them to come up with some cash for outstanding payments – they even used the “dvla.gov.uk” domain in the web address to try and convince motorists that it was the real thing.
Last year, a scam email was found to be going around which promised a £240 car tax refund and once again, to trick people into believing it was genuine, an official logo was featured.
“We don’t send emails or text messages that ask you to confirm your personal details or payment information, such as for a vehicle tax refund,” said the DVLA, adding: “If you get anything like this, don’t open any links and delete the email or text immediately.”
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