‘It’s an inside job. I have access to the database and the certificates that are needed to get you registered.’
These are the alarming claims made by fraudsters who say they can issue you with a full UK driving licence without ever having to take any tests.
Worrying scams are emerging across social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, whereby con artists advertise services falsely claiming to help you illegally obtain a licence.
An investigation by the BBC found that at least 669 pages, groups and accounts existed as of June 16 offering to help people bypass the tricky theory and practical exams required.
Many of these accounts have thousands of followers and promise they can get you a licence within days, in return for a hefty sum of cash.
One of those many accounts is operating under the name ‘Fast Pass DVSA’ on Instagram and has more than 10,000 followers.
The account lists a number of ‘services’, including ‘theory and practical passes, point and ban removals, CBTs and plenty more’.
It encourages people to contact them via WhatsApp to arrange for a full UK driving licence to be authorised.
When Metro.co.uk approached this operator and enquired as to the ‘service’ they are claiming to provide, they say the process will cost you £549.99.
They wrote: ‘It’s all legitimate and I’ll provide you proof of your certificates and the changes being made on the DVLA site before payment.’
The fraudster then asks for all of your personal details, including your name, date of birth, address, national insurance number, provisional licence number and phone number.
In response to a query over whether the licence they claim to provide would be legitimate, they replied: ‘It’s all official.
‘You will receive an email once it’s been put through.
‘You will also have the certificates to go alongside the card.
‘Once it’s been put through you will be able to view the changes online yourself.’
After asking for further information, the scammer agreed to discuss how it works on the phone and said: ‘What it is, it’s an inside job.
‘I have access to the database and the certificates that are needed to get you registered on the database. It’s as simple as that.
‘As soon as I provide you proof of your certificates and the changes being made online, I’ll need the payment from then.
‘And as soon as the payment is sorted, I’ll put that straight online for you. It takes three to five days to get delivered to you.
‘I can fill out your certificates, do the theory and the practical and then apply that all to the database so that allows your licence card to get issued to you. It’s as if you were there in person.’
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has warned that these types of scams are exactly that – scams designed to extract money from people who are desperate for a licence they’ll never receive.
A spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘Driving test fraud is a serious offence, and we’re working closely with social media companies and other agencies to crack down and prosecute those attempting to cheat the system.’
The DVSA said it receives a lot of reports of illegal services relating to driving test fraud on social media platforms and it has teams who work to remove posts and stop scams.
Its head of law enforcement, Marian Kitson, told the BBC its investigation team was catching more people committing fraud and had revoked hundreds of illegally-obtained licences in 2022.
In the year from April 2022, 53 arrests were made, which involved 497 offences of fraud by false representation, and 30 cases were sent for prosecution.
But Ms Kitson said it was clear from their investigations that there was even more occurring, and admitted they didn’t know the true scale of the problem.
She said: ‘The internet is so huge; the social media platforms are vast and these people are very clever, they move the adverts around; they change them frequently.
‘So actually, spotting them and taking action quickly is a real challenge.’
People are encouraged to block and report any users they see posting adverts for driving licences in exchange for payment.
Meta and Tiktok told the BBC that such content violates their guidelines.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
from News – Metro https://ift.tt/hnemAYQ
0 Comments