A photo of a penalty notice posted online tricked a lot of people into calling it a scam – including the police.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But it’s not a scam; that cancellation of vehicle registration form shown above is genuine.
The above image was posted on Facebook and shared by people labelling it as a scam.
One of those included the Facebook page of the Richmond Police District in the Northern Rivers.
“This is a new scam I have not seen before,” the police post stated.
“On first glance it does look convincing. Take a closer look though; it does not have the car rego, offence details or the licence number.”
The post has since been removed from the police Facebook page.
A spokeswoman from Revenue NSW confirmed the notice shown in the image and shared in social media groups in the Illawarra and elsewhere was genuine.
She said details like a driver’s licence number was only included on a notice if the licence was being suspended.
“Where action is being taken on a vehicle registration, neither a driver licence or vehicle registration number is included,” the spokeswoman said.
Revenue NSW was aware of both images of this notice and the claim it was a scam were circulating on social media.
The spokeswoman said the government body was concerned about the possible ramifications.
“There is a concern that these types of posts would encourage members of the public to incorrectly ignore valid requests for payment,” she said.
“We would recommend to never ignore a notice based on information located solely from social media.
“It is best to always double check with the organisation in question. If a notice is valid and action is not taken to resolve the matter, Revenue NSW will take further action and apply additional costs.”
READ MORE: Phone scam targets Chinese expats across NSW
The Revenue NSW website included portals like MyEnforcement Order or MyPenalty that allowed people to log on and verify a notice they had received.
“Customers can use their personal details and the fine details located on the notice to obtain more information and verify they are valid offences,” she said.
“We use a broad range of channels to contact our customers, and this is done by post, email, SMS and outbound phone calls.”
A cancellation notice would not be received out of the blue; the spokeswoman said Revenue NSW would send out up to three notices before taking action to cancel a driver’s licence or car registration with Roads and Maritime Services.
The spokeswoman said there were copies on the Revenue NSW site of all notices, so people could compare what they received with what the official document looked like.
When comparing the two, it was important to make sure the payment details on your form match the official one.
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
