The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has issued an urgent scam warning to UK drivers.

The DVLA has urged drivers to be more vigilant than ever as motorists are regularly targeted by criminals trying to steal money or personal details from them by posing as government agencies such as the DVLA.

Opportunistic fraudsters have been targeting personal details pretending to be a range of huge UK firms including banks, the NHS and more, especially since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Scammers will often make contact via email, phone calls and texts using sophisticated methods to exploit people while there are so many concerns from the vaccine rollout to the economy.

Now as the DVLA deal with backlogs as a result of the pandemic, the agency has moved to warn motorists over potential scams.

 Taking to their official social media feeds, the DVLA warned: “Use Gov.uk for DVLA services or scammers may sneakily steal your personal details to commit fraud.

“Find out how these scmas work and how to avoid or report them.

The tweet includes a link to the government website with information on how to keep your personal details safe.

On the website they warn: “Some websites, emails or phone numbers look like they’re part of an official government service when they’re not, or claim to help more than they actually do.

“Some make you pay for things that would be free or cheaper if you use the official government service.”

What to do if you are a victim of a scam

Contact Action Fraud if you think you’ve lost money or been hacked because of an online scam or fraud and you’re in England or Wales. You can:

  • report online - either sign up for an account or continue as a ‘guest’
  • call 0300 123 2040

If you’re in Scotland and you’ve lost money because of an online scam or fraud, report the crime to Police Scotland.