This DVLA text scam is catching out UK drivers

Never click on anything you are unsure of.

Road tax is stressful – you have to have if your car, motorcycle, or any other vehicle is on the road itself. Even if you are exempt for paying – for instance, if you are disabled – you have to be registered. Which means it’s the sort of thing that unscrupulous types can take advantage of. The DVLA has issued a warning about a text scam going around that you should be aware of. Potential victims have been receiving the following text, telling them that that are owed a refund on their road tax of £50. https://twitter.com/claumeszaros/status/990514835090755584 We have recalculated your vehicle tax. You are owed £48.84 due to over payment. Click the secure link to claim your refund. The DVLA have issued a warming, telling anyone who receives the message to delete it, and that they would not send that information via text message. https://twitter.com/DVLAgovuk/status/991219326450589696 Hi, we don't send text messages about vehicle tax refunds, it is a scam. Please delete the message and don't click the link. So we haven’t clicked that link, for obvious reasons – but it is almost definitely a ‘phishing’ scam. According to government advice, key signs of phishing and spam messages to be aware of are:

• You don’t know the sender.

• Contains misspellings (for example ‘p0rn’ with a zero) designed to fool spam filters.

• Makes an offer that seems too good to be true.

• The subject line and contents do not match.

• Contains an urgent offer end date (for example “Buy now and get 50% off”).

• Contains a request to forward an email to multiple people, and may offer money for doing so.

• Contains a virus warning.

• Contains attachments, which could include .exe files.

Crucially, you never click on any link you are unsure of, or open an attachment from an unknown sender.