Editorial

How to avoid the driving licence scam

The DVLA is warning drivers of an insidious new scam that plays on the fact that it

has recently abolished the paper counterpart element of the driving licence and transferred its services online in an attempt to streamline its services.                        

What is the scam?

Drivers receive an email, telephone call or text message telling them they must verify

their driving licence by logging onto the DVLA's website and paying a fee. Failure to do so will, they are warned, result in their driving licence being suspended leaving them unable to drive. Anyone clicking on the link is taken to a website that looks very like the genuine DVLA one. Here they are prompted to reveal their driving licence number and enter a credit or debit card to make the unnecessary payment. The money is then taken out, and then the card number is then passed onto other fraudsters. A variation of the scam involves fake DVLA email, text message or phone call, only this time it is aimed at drivers aged 70 or over who are renewing their driving licence...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !