NORTH Yorkshire Police is warning the public to be careful of scams after a large number of reports of a new email claiming to be from HM Courts and Tribunal Services.

The email tells the recipient their vehicle has been driven on a road where a congestion charge applies and they must pay £25.

This is then said to increase to £100 if the payment is not made within 28 days.

The recipient is then asked to click on a link in order to pay the fine - just like traditional phishing attacks.

Residents are warned not to respond to the scam email or make a payment. 

Detective Inspector Jon Hodgeon, head of the economic crime unit at North Yorkshire Police said: “This another example of a scam email claiming to be from an official organisation where the victim is tricked into either making a payment or divulging personal information and security details to fraudsters."

Although this email may looks genuine at first glance, there are a number of way to identify a scam:

  • The senders email address does not match the organisation the email purports to come from
  • The email does not address you by name
  • In the case of this email, it does not give your car registration number and lists the area you were driving in as the ‘United Kingdom’
  • The email pressurises the recipient to act quickly for fear of loss or in this instance an increase in the fine if not paid immediately
  • A link in order to make payment.

North Yorkshire residents are encouraged to forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk

Anyone that has already responded to a scam email and lost money is urged to contact their bank immediately and report the crime to North Yorkshire Police.

To contact the police, dial 101, press 1 and speak to our Force Control Room. Alternatively contact Action Fraud on 0330 123 2040 or online at www.actionfraud.police.uk.