CORNWALL Council has issued a warning to residents amid a ‘fake parking ticket’ scam which has been proliferating through text messages.
Residents in Cornwall reported receiving a text from an unknown number reading: “Parking Penalty Charge Notice: please pay a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by a local council. If you do not pay a PCN within 28 days, you will get a ‘charge certificate’ and you will have 14 days to pay the original fine plus 50 per cent more.
“If you do not pay you will be prosecuted and you may have to pay a bigger fine as well as court costs. Please pay your fine at the link after reading the information.
“Thank you again for your co-operation.”
The text contains a link which sends the unsuspecting user to a fake website designed to imitate a government web page which directs them to pay their ‘parking charge notice’, leading to the money being ‘fined’ being stolen by the scammers.
The majority of parking fines are administered physically or via letters in the post, with phone numbers for motorists not routinely held by parking operators or the DVLA.
It has led to Cornwall Council issuing a warning to residents. A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Beware of a fake text message claiming you need to pay a parking ticket via a link. Cornwall Council never sends texts about penalty charge notices. Never supply your bank details and avoid sharing personal information with unknown sources.”
They added: “We never send text messages regarding penalty charge notices. Official communications regarding parking tickets will always be delivered by post. Never click on suspicious links or provide personal or financial details through unknown sources.
“If you receive a similar message, report it to the police and do not click on the provided link. You can also report the scam to the National Cyber Security Centre on their website at https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/
“Remember, if you have received a genuine parking ticket, you can pay it through the official Cornwall Council website.”