Nottinghamshire Police has received numerous reports of scam texts being sent to drivers in recent weeks, with the sender pretending to be from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
The bogus messages usually tell the recipient that they are being served a “parking penalty charge” and include a link to make a payment.
The texts will often make threats if this sum is not paid within a certain timeframe. This could be a driving ban, increased fine, or being taken to court.
The DVSA does not deal with parking fines and anyone who receives the text message should simply delete it and not click any links contained within the message.
Detective Sergeant Sally Collins, of Nottinghamshire Police’s fraud unit, said: “In light of the spike in reports, we are advising people that the DVSA does not deal with parking fines, so will never send anyone a text like this.
“Aside from this, key giveaways are spelling and grammar mistakes, and if the message has been sent from a personal mobile number.
“Our message is simple, if you’ve received a text message about a parking fine claiming to be from DVSA, this is a scam.
“Simply delete the message and do not click the link as it leads to a phoney website which could extort money and personal information from you.”
Nottinghamshire Police has received 68 reports of the text message scam since the beginning of September.
To report a scam visit www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-text-message