NORTH Berwick residents are being urged to ignore scam text messages claiming that motorists have been issued with parking fines in the town.
The warning comes after residents reported receiving fraudulent texts demanding payment for an alleged parking offence.
The text was sent from gov-parkinggym.top, posing to be a collection agency for fines.
In a warning to residents, North Berwick Community Council urged people “to disregard the messages” noting that East Lothian Council had not yet begun issuing parking tickets under the town’s new parking arrangements.
The community council urged anyone receiving such texts not to click on any links, or provide personal or financial information.
East Lothian Council says it will confirm the date at which penalty charge notices will be issued in “due course”.
The local authority confirmed that it had a report from a resident who received a text scam claiming they hadoutstanding charges to pay and that parking charge related scams had become “increasingly common across the UK in recent years”.
They warned people not to click on any accompanying links in these messages.
An council spokesperson said: “Any such messages are scams. Please do not click on any accompanying links on these messages.
“The council would never issue reminders in this way. Any reminders about the payment of penalty charge notices (PCNs) are sent to motorists by post via official council correspondence.
“Anyone receiving a PCN can pay it online on our website, over the phone on our 24-hour payment line, or by cheque or postal order.
“Unfortunately, scam texts relating to parking charges have become increasingly common across the UK in recent years.
“We would encourage anyone who suspects they have received a scam text to report it to Advice Direct Scotland at consumeradvice.scot
“If you think a crime has been committed, this should be reported to Police Scotland.
“The parking attendants operating in North Berwick are currently placing advisory notices on vehicles that are not parked in line with the rules. These notices are simply to raise awareness and help people adjust to the scheme’s introduction.
“In due course, PCNs will be issued where the rules are not being followed and a start date for this will be confirmed.”
Police Scotland warns that criminals use text message phishing or ‘smishing’ (phising via SMS messages) to impersonate legitimate organisations and push victims towards fake websites designed to steal data or money.
People are urged to use caution and verify any payment requests through trusted contact details, not via links or numbers provided in unsolicited texts.
Anyone who thinks they may have responded to a scam message or shared financial information should contact their bank immediately and report the incident to police.
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