Police warning to be aware of ‘DVLA’ fraud
West Mercia Police has urged people to be aware of the fake DVLA emails which are once again circulating.
An officer from Cleobury and Highley Safer Neighbourhood Team issued the warning to people who may come across fake emails purporting to be from DVLA.
PCSO Jacqueline Fletcher said the emails often come with the title “Vehicle Tax Status – Unpaid” and may carry a realistic looking Government logo, but the sender's email address will not look genuine.
She said: "The message will then tell you that your payment has failed so your vehicle is not taxed and you are driving illegally.
"A clickable link will follow in the message which, once opened, asks the recipient to update their bank details and personal information.
"Please do not click that link, just delete or mark it as 'Spam' and you can always forward a copy to report@phishing.gov.uk."
Meanwhile, anyone who believes they have been scammed on PayPal can check to see if the payment is still pending in which they can 'Cancel Payment' and get an instant refund.
"Another common type of scam used by fraudsters on PayPal is the 'Refund Scam'," PCSO Fletcher added.
"The scammer buys an item from you but makes an overpayment for the goods. Having told you then they overpaid by oversight, they request a refund of that part of the payment.
"In many cases they ask for the payment to be sent to a third account after claiming the original account is closed. So the seller sends a refund, delivers the item assuming all is well.
"But in reality the buyer is a fraudster and was spending money on a stolen credit card or a hacked PayPal account. In essence this is just another form of wire fraud."
For more information, visit actionfraud.police.uk
