Congestion Charge Scam

By: Tracy Wilkinson - Updated: 31 Mar 2020 | *Discuss

 

As technology improves so do the innovative ways that scammers use to get money out of unsuspecting people who are using that technology. The most common of these are email scams which have become a huge problem over the last couple of years, especially those that come from spoofed email addresses - which means they look like they've come from a particular person or company, when in actual fact, they haven't.

Transport for London, the office that deals with the London congestion charge is at the centre of the latest email scam.Thousands of people are thought to have received emails that claim to be from the "Collections Department, City of London Congestion Charge" and say that the recipient has been photographed driving in the London area and needs to pay a fine ranging between £80 - £120.

Below is an example of the most recent email:

The registration number does not usually match any car belonging to the recipient, and the whole email is completely false and any links contained within it should not be clicked. If you do receive one of these you should immediately delete the email and do not reply.

Transport for London (TfL) has issued the following advice for anyone who receives one of these emails, or anything similar:

Title:

Miss Ms Mrs Mr Dr Rev'd Prof. Other

(never shown)

! Enter a Title

Firstname:

(never shown)

! Enter a Firstname

Surname:

(never shown)

! Enter a Surname

Email:

(never shown)

! Enter a Valid Email Address

Nickname:

(shown)

! Enter a Nickname

Comment:

! Enter a Comment

Validate:

Enter word:

! Validation Incorrect