Fraud alert - scam text messages about parking tickets (Penalty Charge Notices)
Members of the public have been receiving spam text messages claiming to be from the Council advising them they have a parking ticket (Penalty Charge Notice) they must pay via a link contained in the message.
Sheffield City Council parking services team do not send text messages requesting payments for Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).
PCNs issued by the Council will contain a unique PCN reference number, starting with FD, and your vehicle registration number.
Residents can check if a PCN has been issued by Sheffield City Council through the Taranto portal by entering their PCN reference number and vehicle registration from the PCN. https://sheffield.tarantoportal.com/
Information about how to pay a PCN issued by the Council is on https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/parking/pay-penalty-charge-notice
Any emails we send about a PCN will be in response to an appeal or a query you made about the case and will be from a sheffield.gov.uk email address, or from No_Reply_Sheffield@tarantoportal.com.
We have reported this matter to the National Cyber Security Centre, and we are aware that other local authorities are experiencing reports of the same issue.
If you receive such a text message you can report it via your phone provider or by forwarding it to 7726. Fraudulent emails can be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Anyone who believes they have been a victim of this should report the matter to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ or call 0300 123 2040.