{"id":7289,"date":"2026-10-06T21:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/dvla-scam-text-email\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T21:53:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:53:57","slug":"dvla-scam-text-email","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/dvla-scam-text-email\/","title":{"rendered":"DVLA scam texts and emails: how to spot and report them"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"crumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><a href=\"\/uk\/\">Home<\/a> \u203a DVLA scam texts and emails<\/nav>\n<p><span class=\"kicker\">Scam warning<\/span><\/p>\n<h1>DVLA scam texts and emails: how to spot and report them<\/h1>\n<div class=\"answer\"><strong>Short answer:<\/strong> Texts and emails claiming to be from DVLA, with urgent wording such as &ldquo;ACTION REQUIRED&rdquo; or a refund link, are often scams. Do not click the link. Forward texts to 7726 and emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, and use GOV.UK directly for anything about your licence or vehicle.<\/div>\n<p class=\"meta\">Last reviewed: <time datetime=\"2026-10-05\">2026-10-05<\/time> \u00b7 By <a href=\"\/uk\/authors\/\">Mark Dent<\/a><\/p>\n<nav class=\"toc\" aria-label=\"On this page\"><strong>On this page<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#s1\">What DVLA says it does and does not do<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s2\">Message claims against the official position<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s3\">What to do with a message<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s4\">A short history of the scale<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#s5\">How to read a DVLA-style message<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"keyfacts\"><strong>Key facts, read from GOV.UK on 5 October 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>DVLA says it will never ask for your bank account details or ask you to confirm payment details, and it does not issue vehicle tax refunds by email link.<\/li>\n<li>DVLA asks you to confirm personal details by email or text only if you have a live enquiry with it.<\/li>\n<li>Nearly 20,000 customers reported fraudulent activity to DVLA in 2024.<\/li>\n<li>Forward scam texts to 7726 and scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"s1\">What DVLA says it does and does not do<\/h2>\n<p>DVLA&#8217;s own scam advice, published on 4 April 2025 and updated on 12 December 2025, makes four points: use GOV.UK for its services, never share images of your driving licence or V5C online, be careful with emails and texts asking for personal details, and avoid websites that copy DVLA. It adds that scammers create sites that charge extra for services that are free or cheaper on GOV.UK, and that identity theft and vehicle cloning are risks when documents are shared.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s2\">Message claims against the official position<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>What the message claims<\/th>\n<th>What DVLA says<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>A vehicle tax refund is waiting behind a link<\/td>\n<td>Refunds are not issued through an email link<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Your vehicle tax payment failed; update details now or be fined<\/td>\n<td>DVLA never asks for bank or payment details by text or email<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Confirm your licence or personal details<\/td>\n<td>Only requested by email or text if you have a live enquiry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>A look-alike site offers to renew or tax for a fee<\/td>\n<td>Fraudulent sites target licence applications, vehicle tax and Clean Air Zone payments<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 id=\"s3\">What to do with a message<\/h2>\n<ol class=\"steps\">\n<li>Do not click, reply or call a number in the message.<\/li>\n<li>Forward a text to 7726, which is free, and forward an email to report@phishing.gov.uk. Both routes are named in DVLA&#8217;s guidance.<\/li>\n<li>Delete it. If you think you really do have a live enquiry, contact DVLA through the contact page on GOV.UK.<\/li>\n<li>If you clicked and entered card details, ring your bank straight away and report it, as in <a href=\"\/uk\/report-a-scam\/\">how to report a scam<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"s4\">A short history of the scale<\/h2>\n<p>A DVLA news release of 14 December 2020 reported that scam emails reported to it rose by 531% between July to September 2020 and the same months in 2019, from 603 to 3,807. DVLA&#8217;s head of fraud policy investigation said it never asks for bank or credit card details by text or email. Reporting then went to Report Fraud; the route today is the GOV.UK scams page or Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"s5\">How to read a DVLA-style message<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"check\">\n<li>Is it asking for card or bank details? DVLA says it never does.<\/li>\n<li>Does it carry a deadline and a threat of a fine? Urgency is the scammer&#8217;s tool.<\/li>\n<li>Does the link go to GOV.UK, or to a look-alike address?<\/li>\n<li>Did you start an enquiry with DVLA? If not, there is nothing for it to follow up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The same branding is used to sell fake documents: neither a text nor a seller can give you a licence (<a href=\"\/uk\/buy-a-driving-licence\/\">can you buy a driving licence?<\/a>), and a seller&#8217;s DVLA database claim is covered in <a href=\"\/uk\/registered-licence-dvla-database\/\">the registered-on-the-database claim<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<details>\n<summary>Does DVLA send texts asking for payment?<\/summary>\n<p>DVLA says it will never ask for bank account details or payment confirmation, and it does not send refund links. Treat any text or email demanding urgent payment or card details as a scam, and use GOV.UK directly instead.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Where do I forward a scam text?<\/summary>\n<p>Forward it to 7726, which is free on UK mobile networks, as DVLA&#8217;s guidance and the NCSC advise. Your network provider can then investigate. Do not click the link, even to look, and do not reply.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Where do I report a scam email?<\/summary>\n<p>Forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk, the NCSC&#8217;s suspicious email service named in DVLA&#8217;s advice. If you lost money, use the GOV.UK scams page or ring Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Is a vehicle tax refund ever sent by email?<\/summary>\n<p>DVLA says it does not issue vehicle tax refunds through email links. A message promising an amount you are owed, with a link to claim it, fits the pattern of the scams DVLA has warned about.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>How many people report DVLA scams?<\/summary>\n<p>DVLA says nearly 20,000 customers reported fraudulent activity in 2024. A December 2020 release gave a sharp rise in reported scam emails, from 603 to 3,807 comparing July to September 2020 with 2019.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<div class=\"related\">\n<h2>Keep reading<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/paid-driving-licence-scammer\/\">I paid a scammer: what now?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/is-my-licence-real\/\">How to check a driving licence<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/buy-a-driving-licence\/\">Can you buy a driving licence?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/uk\/report-a-scam\/\">How to report a scam<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sources\">\n<h2>Sources and official links<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/dvlas-top-tips-for-avoiding-scams\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">GOV.UK: DVLA&#x27;s top tips for avoiding scams (4 April 2025, updated 12 December 2025)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/dvla-releases-latest-scam-images-to-help-keep-motorists-safe-online\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">GOV.UK: DVLA releases latest scam images (14 December 2020)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author\"><strong>About the author<\/strong><br \/>Written by <a href=\"\/uk\/authors\/\">Mark Dent<\/a> from official GOV.UK guidance, UK legislation and public reporting. We do not sell, issue or arrange any licence or document, and we are not part of DVLA, DVSA or any government body. See our <a href=\"\/uk\/editorial-policy\/\">editorial policy<\/a> or <a href=\"\/uk\/contact\/\">report a mistake<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home \u203a DVLA scam texts and emails Scam warning DVLA scam texts and emails: how to spot and report them Short answer: Texts and emails claiming to be from DVLA, with urgent wording such as &ldquo;ACTION REQUIRED&rdquo; or a refund link, are often scams. Do not click the link. Forward texts to 7726 and emails [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"truthdocuments-guide","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7289","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_hostinger_reach_plugin_has_subscription_block":false,"_hostinger_reach_plugin_is_elementor":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7927,"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7289\/revisions\/7927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthdocuments.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}