Drivers warned over DVSA 'last warning' text message

Drivers have been sent a warning about text messages claiming to be from the DVSA. People have reported being sent demands to pay parking fines that don't actually exist.

But there are fears some motorists could fall for the scams and believe they have broken parking rules without knowing it. The threatening message says it is a "DVSA last notification" and the "last day to see parking fine reduced" before being "doubled".

Motorists are also warned they could be "banned from the road" and prosecuted. The urgent nature of the message is designed to scare recipients and convince them to click a malicious link.

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People who receive fraudulent texts like these are reminded never to click on any links or provide personal information. The DVSA is unlikely to contact motorists in this way about parking fines and details of any legitimate parking penalties are normally sent through the post.

It is among one of the most common text scams reported by the fraud monitoring company Phonely. They said: "Victims are receiving texts claiming to be from the DVSA, threatening them with penalties for unpaid parking fines.

"The text includes a malicious link to pay the fine, which directs to a fraudulent site designed to steal personal and financial information. One particularly alarming message read: “DVSA last notification, last day to see parking fine reduced, from tomorrow your parking fines will be doubled again, your car will be banned from the road and we will prosecute you".

It comes amid a surge in phone scams in recent years and further warnings in the run-up to Christmas when fraudsters will be looking to target shoppers. Phonely said: "Phone scams now account for the largest share of overall fraud losses, surpassing even online schemes.

"According to the UK Finance annual fraud report, a staggering 43% of fraud losses stem from telecoms fraud, compared to 30% from online scams. While overall fraud losses have decreased by 4% to £1.17 billion, telephone fraud losses have actually increased, highlighting the growing threat of phone-based scams."