Darlington residents and transport users have been urged to be vigilant following the discovery of a scam social media page falsely promising "free" bus travel.
Transport bosses and the council have warned bus users to be wary of two identical pages named 'Darlington Public Transport' - which is believed to be scamming residents out of money for a fake transport card.
The pages, created at the end of March, utilise pictures of Arriva buses on Tubwell Row in the town centre whilst falsely offering six months of bus travel with a unique card for £1.
It is currently not known how many people may have been affected by the scam - but some residents have been seen commenting that they "never got" the card, as other Darlington residents tagged their friends and family to take advantage of the offer.
After Arriva was made aware of the scam page, they told The Northern Echo that any pages claiming to use their branding will be reported.
A spokesperson for Arriva North East said: “Arriva would never facilitate ticket sales or offers on social media, so we’d advise all customers to buy their tickets directly from our website and app.
“Any pages or websites claiming to be Arriva will be reported.
“We urge customers to be vigilant when using social media, as that is where many scams take place.
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Cllr Jim Garner, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for stronger communities, said: "We’d encourage the public to be vigilant about any kind of scams, particularly those on social media.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Report anything suspicious to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, online at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040."
Action Fraud have been contacted for comment.
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