Be aware! City residents are advised to be on their guard following reports of a scam text aimed at tricking people into thinking they have to pay a parking penalty charge notice (PCN).
The text asks people to pay the PCN which has been issued by “a local council”. It states recipients have 28 days to pay or they will be issued with a “charge certificate” which means paying the original PCN plus 50% more.
People are told they have only 14 days to pay or they will be prosecuted, which will mean a larger fine and court costs. The text encourages people to click on a link in order to pay.
If you are suspicious, do not click on any links or give out any personal or bank details. Report suspicious texts and block the numbers. Please make family and friends aware.
They can have a huge impact on their victims - both financially and emotionally. Scammers are clever and use a variety of methods to trick people.
Here are a few steps you can take to protect yourself:
- If you receive an unexpected telephone call, letter, e-mail or text think carefully before giving any personal details as it might be a scam. Carry out some additional checks before responding. Look for spelling and grammatical mistakes. Do you recognise the sender? Look at the date / time format. Many scams will have US date format where the month is given before the day.
- If you receive an unexpected doorstep call from a stranger offering to do some work, don’t hand over cash sums or bank cards in advance. It’s likely to be a scam. You should be given pre-contractual information and 14 days in which to cancel as per your statutory rights under The Consumer Rights Act 2015. Get at least three other quotes from suitably qualified contractors. This will enable you to establish an average price for the work.
- Beware of today or one time only offers and things which seem too good to be true. They probably are.
- Lots of scammers will want you to do something straight away so you don’t have time to think about what you are agreeing to. Take time to reflect and remember that it’s ok to say No and hang up or shut the door.
- With any unexpected communication. Trust your instincts. Can you be sure they are who they say they are?
- Council Officers will never cold-call and they do not work in partnership with contractors.
- Please be wary of QR codes that you may need to scan at various locations, such as paying for a carpark, ordering items/services etc, look out for any tampering/alterations to QR codes and the sticking over/replacing the genuine QR code with a bogus QR code.
Support
For advice & assistance contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service by calling 0808 223 1133 or visiting the Citizens Advice website.
To report scams contact Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting the Action Fraud website.