County Council issues warning over car parking charge text scam

Derbyshire County Council is urging residents to beware of a parking charge scam currently doing the rounds.

Worried drivers in Derbyshire have contacted county council parking officers after receiving a scam text about a parking penalty charge. And council parking officers were also contacted by the British Parking Association, which has had reports about these texts from across the country.

Anyone receiving a text about a parking penalty charge notice is advised not to click the link. It will be a scam. Councils would not be texting people about a penalty charge. They would write to them by post.

Councillor Carol Hart, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Communities, said: “We know that these scam texts are becoming prevalent. Please spread the word among your family, friends and neighbours. Forewarned is forearmed, and it could help stop someone becoming a victim.”

Councillor Hart added: “Scam texts often try to make people panic and act urgently. We urge people to take time to look at the text properly, be sceptical, be vigilant, and do not click on any links.” 

There are often signs that a text is a scam:

• It may say 'a local council’, not a named council.
• It may refer to a ‘fine’ as well as a penalty charge.
• The capitalisation, phrasing and punctuation are often poor.
• The link may not look like a council link.

Anyone receiving a scam text message can forward it to 7726, the National Cyber Security Centre, before deleting it. They can also take a screenshot or screen recording of the text message and send it to report @ phishing.gov.uk 

For more information visit the Government’s National Cyber Security Centre website.