Drivers are being asked to look out for a number of red flags after the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency issued a warning.
Last week, the ECHO reported that websites have been set up asking drivers to pay for services that are free of charge on the DVLA website.
It is said that thousands of motorists have been caught out by the websites that charge for things such as changing your address on your licence, renewing a driving licence, or helping with V5C vehicle registration certificates.
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All of these things can be done for free, or at a much cheaper price on the DVLA website, reports the Mirror.
While sites do actually offer the services they advertise and they are not illegal - but the DVLA doesn't want drivers to pay f or unnecessary services.
For example, it costs £14 to renew a driving licence on the DVLA website, but up to £60 elsewhere.
Meanwhile, a number of scams are asking drivers to verify their driving licence details, offer vehicle tax refunds, highlight a failed vehicle tax payment and ask for bank details.
Figures released by the agency for the three months to September this year show a 603% increase in reports to their contact centre of fraudulent emails, texts and phone calls, compared to the same period in 2019.
Public reports of email scams saw the biggest rise from July to September 2020 compared with the same three months last year, jumping from 603 to 3,807 – an increase of 531%.
Speaking about the 'shyster sites', MoneySavingExpert deputy editor Guy Anker said: "These copycat sites aren’t illegal, but they dress up like legitimate webpages, and use clever tricks to appear higher on search engines.
"They get you to fill in forms, which requires no more work on your part than if you’d done it yourself via the official sites, and then they overcharge you for ‘administration’ or ‘services’ – which is really just passing it to the relevant body, with no extra work involved."
If a website offering DVLA-related services doesn't have "gov.uk" in the address bar, it's a red flag that it may charge these extra fees.
Another sign is that you are being asked for money for something that was previously free for you - like updating your car's log book when you move house.
DVLA chief executive Julie Lennard said: "Gov.uk is the only site where customers will find our official services, many of which are free. You may be charged a premium when using other websites offering services that are not connected to DVLA."
