Motor tax scam

[Brendan Burgess]

I got this email and assumed it was official because I am in the process of renewing my car tax.



And it was very similar to other legit emails which had all my details including the car registration number. The first two emails in the following list are the legit ones, the third one is the spam.





It was only when I remembered that I had actually got my tax disc and put it in my car that I realised that this must be a scam.

I had not noticed the misspelling of Transport

Brendan

 

[JohnJay]

If they have your correct email address, car make and Reg No, then it must be more than hit-or-miss spam

 

[Daffodils]

Good spot Brendan. It looks very genuine but with the spelling mistake and having received your tax disk already I doubt it. Report it the motor tax office, I can't imagine they'd have issued your tax disk without payment. Also my email from the motor tax office is from info@motortax.ie not noreply@motortax.ie. There was a similar email doing the rounds from Electric Ireland recently.

 

[Daffodils]

Actually there is already a warning on the motor tax homepage.

 

[llgon]

If they have your correct email address, car make and Reg No, then it must be more than hit-or-miss spam

Which begs the question where did they get your information from?

The email seems to be quite convincing and deserves some publicity.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Sorry if my original post was not clear. I have edited it.

The spam email did not have any details other than my name.

Brendan

 

[newtothis]

One would hope to that a genuine email would not include the phrase "This is a NOTICE from MOTOR TAX". Who or what is "MOTOR TAX"? It can be easy to miss these inconsistencies, though, especially if it otherwise looks genuine.

 

[mathepac]

This is the format / wording of the only messages I've ever received from Dept of Transport, Tourism and Sport about my Motor Tax. I have one or two. The wording doesn't seem to vary, just the dates and PIN.

"Dear MR XXXXX XXXXXXXX

This is your motor tax reminder. Please retain as you will not receive a renewal notice in the post.

Motor Tax for your COLOUR MAKE MODEL expires on the last day of MARCH 2016.

If you have recently taxed this vehicle, please ignore this notice.

The pin for online renewal on the Motor Tax Website is 123456

To renew your tax, please ensure that you have the following details:

Vehicle Registration Number
Name of Insurance Company (not broker)
Insurance Policy Number
Date of Expiry of Insurance
Payment Details"