Drivers warned of fake parking fine scams

Darlington Council said parking fine requests were never sent by text

Drivers are being warned of text message and fake website scams falsely claiming people owe money for parking fines.

Darlington Council said it had received a "significant" number of reports from motorists saying they had received a text claiming to be from the authority requesting urgent payment of a fine.

A second scam involves QR codes placed on pay and display parking machines pretending to be from parking providers and taking people to fake payment websites.

The council urged people to be "cautious" and not to click on to suspicious links.

A spokesman for the council said: "Local authorities will never request payment for a parking fine via text.

"A legitimate parking charge notice is attached to the windscreen of the vehicle in a yellow envelope or sent via post to the registered keeper of the vehicle."

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