Thurrock Council’s Counter Fraud and Investigation Team has issued a warning about a new scam involving fraudulent parking ticket fines. Several members of the National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) have reported incidents where members of the public have received fraudulent text messages claiming they owe a parking fine.
The messages falsely claim to be from local councils, advising recipients to pay a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) and include threats of further fines or legal action if the payment is not made. These messages appear to use wording from official government sources to make them seem legitimate.
The following mobile numbers have been reported as sending these fraudulent messages:
- 07983474566
- 07367463054
- 07735553909
- 07904210588
- 07944625649
- 07903658070
- 07920624658
-
07471494043
How to Spot the Scam
The fraudulent messages typically include the following content:
"Please pay a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by a local council. If you do not pay a PCN within 28 days, you’ll get a ‘charge certificate’ and you’ll have 14 days to pay the original fine plus 50% more. If you do not pay you’ll be prosecuted - you may have to pay a bigger fine as well as court costs."
What to Do If You Receive One of These Messages
- Do not click any links provided in the message.
- Do not reply to the text or provide any personal or financial information.
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Report the scam to Thurrock Council's Counter Fraud and Investigation Team.
To report a scam, visit Thurrock Council's 'Reporting Fraud' webpage.