You should never share pictures of your driving licence or car documents online - here's why

A warning has been issued to drivers not to share images of their licence or any other car documents online.

The DVLA says they could be putting themselves at risk of fraud.

Identity theft

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In a warning to motorists, the DVLA cautioned that a snap of a licence or log book is an easy target for fraudsters looking to steal your or your car’s identity.

Your driver’s licence contains many of the key details used by criminals to steal people’s identities, including your full name, date of birth and address.

Likewise, a car’s V5C includes your name and address as well as the car’s registration mark, VIN number and a document reference number that is vital for actions such as having new number plates made up.

Stolen car details can be used by car cloners to put a legitimate car’s details onto a stolen or otherwise illegal car. This could leave you at risk of being hit with parking and speeding fines as well as more serious charges if a vehicle using your car’s identity is used in a crime.

Tax fraud

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It comes as Action Fraud tweeted about a rise in people receving fraudulent messages about their car tax.

In a tweet, the national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre said it had received nearly 200 reports about fake car tax emails in just two days.

SCAM WARNING⚠️: Watch out for these FAKE @DVLAgovuk emails, we have received over 188 reports in just two days!If you get sent a suspicious email, you can report it by forwarding the email to - [email protected] pic.twitter.com/F8wph3Zqgd

— Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) October 19, 2020

The email tells the person that a new invoice has been generated and they should use a credit card to pay the balance.

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It also warns them they face a fine of £380 for not taxing their vehicle or for not informing the DVLA that it is off the road.

The DVLA will never send out emails or texts asking you to confirm personal details or payments and urged people not to give out private information (such as bank details or passwords), reply to text messages, download attachments or click on any links in emails if you’re not sure they’re genuine.

Details about how to report fraudulent emails can be found on the gov.uk website