The dodgy sites can charge more than FOUR TIMES the usual cost and, in the worst cases, make users think they have applied by the official government process — then hit them with a shock debit or credit card charge.
These illegal sites spring up like the Whac-A-Mole game, one expert source told The Sun, and are slapped down quickly by regulators whenever they appear.
But there are others that, incredibly, are legal — since they take advantage of a loophole that allows them to operate if they state somewhere on the site they are a non-official checking service with additional fees.
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Those that do this use small print that is easy to miss, especially for less-savvy web users such as the elderly.
For example, ukdrivingsupport. co.uk states it in a banner running along the top of the screen in print about a quarter of the size of the rest of the text, which urges users: “Apply for, renew or update your driving licence.”
The firm charges £59.99 on top of the DVLA charges, meaning a replacement comes to £79.99.
One couple caught out by a bogus site were retired couple Dianne and Ian Jeffries, of Blunham, Beds, who ended up paying an extra £50 for a replacement driving licence.
In August, Dianne’s handbag, containing her driving licence, was stolen from her car.
HOW TO SPOT A SCAM WEB PAGE
Quite often, the official site is the first or second non-paid-for link that appears below the ads.
Read the homepage. Take a couple of minutes to double-check the site, don’t dive straight into filling out an application form. Visit the homepage and read the text there. It may even say that the site is not officially affiliated with the official body. Check the web address. Don’t be fooled by a “dot-org” address, as this is no guarantee that it is a body’s official website.
Any website claiming to be an official government site should have an address ending “.gov.uk”. Although it’s not always a guarantee, you can check for “https://” at the beginning of the site’s address.
On pages where you are entering personal information, this indicates that there is encryption in place to protect your personal details. Websites with just “http://” don’t encrypt your details.
Source: Which?
When applying for a new one, she searched on Google for “replacement for stolen driving licence” and clicked on what she thought was a government website. It had a crown at the top and GOV.UK on the heading.
After applying, she found she had been charged £72 instead of the £20 she had expected. Dianne, 71, a retired clerical worker, said: “There had been an awful lot to do, as I lost a lot of things, like my camera, car key and phone. I was also worried about people spending on my cards. I typed in ‘replacement stolen driving licence’ and just took at face value what came up.
“There should be something there to explain who they are and what they are doing.”
Dianne managed to get her money back through her home insurance but knows many other victims won’t be able to do the same. Earlier this year a group of fraudsters who operated copycat websites were sentenced to more than 35 years in jail.
THE LEGITIMATE WEBSITES TO GO TO
Driving licence renewals: Gov.uk
Real cost: £20.
Example bogus site price: £79.99.
Passport renewal: Gov.uk
Real cost: £75.50.
Example bogus site price: £15-£29 extra.
European Health Insurance Cards: ehic.org.uk
Real cost: Free.
Example bogus site price: £35.
ESTAs: esta.cbp.dhs.gov
Real cost: $14 (£10.87).
Example bogus site price: $79 (£61.36).
Birth and marriage certificates: Gov.uk
Real cost: £9.25.
Example bogus site price: £27.95 per copy.
London congestion charge: tfl.gov.uk
Real cost: £11.50 a day.
Example bogus site price: £17.50 per day.
Driving theory test: Gov.uk
Real cost: £23.
Example bogus site price: £41.
The six people, led by Peter Hall and including his wife Claire, netted £37million by selling passports and driving licences at a premium, which funded their luxury lifestyle. Despite the fraudsters being jailed, other rogue sites — which are quick to set up — continue to appear in internet searches.
Colin Rumford, from National Trading Standards, said: “The number of complaints about copycat websites has fallen substantially in recent years after we began taking action.
“Despite that, there will always be new criminals who try to catch people out. Those criminals should know that they can expect to face action from us but it also means people should be vigilant when online.”
Search giant Google said: “Because we want the ads people see on Google to be useful and relevant, we have policies that prevent ads for paid products or services where the primary offering is available from a government or public source for free or at a lower price.
“If we discover sites that are breaking this rule, we take appropriate action on the ad.”
To help you avoid being ripped off, we've added tips, in the boxes, explaining how to spot scam websites, and a list of legitimate sites.
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