DVLA revealed on Twitter that drivers may be caught out by online cyber fraud schemes as they urged to help drivers through the issue. In a social media Tweet yesterday the DVLA said: “Cyber scams are common. We want to help our customers to spot fraudulent activity.”
The message comes just days after the DVLA reported that they were aware of a new email scam which asked drivers to reveal their tax details.
The agency has urged recipients to ignore the message and to not follow instructions after a range of motorists reported the incident online.
The statement said: “The DVLA is aware of an email scam that asks drivers to verify their vehicle tax details via an online link.
“We strongly advise anyone who receives one of these or any similar email/text, to ignore it and not to follow the instructions given.”
READ MORE: New DVLA vehicle tax refund scam sent to motorists
Figures released in February revealed there has recently been a 20 percent increase in scams reported to the DVLA.
A total of 1,538 reports were made to the agency over the past three months of 2019 with each scam putting road users at serious risk.
The DVLA says this was an increase from the 1,275 scams reported in the same period in 2018.
The DVLA revealed the reports focused on a range of suspected web, email, text or social media scams which were aimed at unsuspecting road users.
They also revealed fraudsters target motorists with links to services that don’t exist or offer false tax refunds to entice them to share details.
The DVLA has also recently revealed that driver and vehicle documents have been placed on sale which could see many at serious risk.
The agency has urged anyone with concerns over fraudulent material to report any information to the police or Action Fraud to be immediately investigated.
DVLA chief information security officer David Pope warns drivers that if something is “too good to be true” then it usually is.
He confirmed the DVLA will never ask drivers to get in touch to claim a refund and urged road users to never share personal documents online.
Mr Pope said: “These websites and messages are designed to trick people into believing they can access services that simply don’t exist such as removing penalty points from driving licences.
“All our tax refunds are generated automatically after a motorist has told us they have sold, scrapped or transferred their vehicle to someone else so we don’t ask for anyone to get in touch with us to claim their refund.
“We want to protect the public and if something seems too good to be true, then it almost certainly is. The only trusted source of DVLA information is GOV.UK
“It is also important to remember never to share images on social media that contain personal information, such as your driving licence and vehicle documents.”