Urgent Ulez warning issued as drivers could be slapped with massive fines from scams
Drivers could be scammed and still fined by TfL if they fall for fraud websites
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Transport for London has issued an urgent warning to drivers zbout a scam plot which could see motorists lose hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
Drivers have been stung by fines relating to TfL, as well as the Ultra Low Emission Zone, prompting authorities to warn motorists.
Scams have been rife with services purporting to allow drivers to pay the Ulez or Congestion Charge fee by pretending to be associated with Transport for London.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, TfL urged drivers to remain cautious of any messages that do not look legitimate.
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The message stated: “Fraudsters are targeting the Ulez scrappage schemes, and offering fraudulent Ulez exemptions to some customers.
“If you have suspicions that someone is committing fraud against these schemes, report your concerns to the TfL Counter-fraud and Corruption team.”
The Transport for London website ensures drivers that it has a “zero-tolerance approach” to fraud and corruption.
When using the website, TfL can act on information relating to crimes within its supply chain, payment fraud, revenue fraud and even employee benefits fraud.
Drivers are encouraged to contact TfL if they think they have been the victim of fraud, with the Counter-fraud and Corruption team investigating the concerns.
Unofficial payment websites are still appearing online, with drivers sometimes being offered special discounts or offers to use the website.
One website, which appeared online around the time of the Ulez expansion in August, was offering drivers a subscription-style service to supposedly avoid the daily £12.50 charge.
If someone uses these websites, not only will they lose money, but they could also be fined for not paying the original Ulez fee, potentially resulting in hundreds of pounds worth of charges.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed that TfL is not associated with any third-party websites accepting Ulez payments.
He added that the transport authority is working with search engine websites like Google to remove any unofficial websites that could trick drivers.
Following the expansion to Greater London, which took place on August 29, there was a huge spike in demand for information about the Ultra Low Emission Zone.
With this in mind, scammers were targeting drivers in the hopes that motorists trying to pay for driving inside the scheme would not look properly to see if it was an authentic TfL website.
A number of scam websites appeared on Google when searching for “pay Ulez charge” or even just “Ulez”.
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Some of these websites have since been removed, although others continue to appear on Google and other social media websites.