RESIDENTS are being warned about scam text messages claiming they owe unpaid parking fines.
St Helens Council has issued an alert after reports that some people have received messages about unpaid Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).
The authority said the texts may appear official and reference the council, but are “entirely fake” and should be ignored.
In a statement, the council said: “We’ve had reports of some residents receiving texts notifying them of an unpaid car parking Penalty Charge Notices (PCN).
“The messages may appear official and reference the council and unpaid fines or charges, but they are entirely fake and should be ignored.”
The council stressed that legitimate PCNs are never issued by text message.
“Legitimate PCNs will always be sent to you via letter and can be verified on our website. The council would not text you about an unpaid parking fine.”
Residents are being urged not to engage with the messages and to avoid clicking on any links.
“These are scams. Do not reply and never click suspicious links. Block the sender and report it to Action Fraud.”
The warning follows similar incidents previously reported in the borough, with fraudsters using convincing messages to try to obtain personal or financial information.
Fake PCN texts are part of a wider trend of “smishing” scams, in which criminals send out mass messages designed to pressure people into making payments or handing over details via fraudulent websites.
