Drivers warned about rise in PCN parking text scams
Mon, 15 Sept 2025
Councils across the country are warning drivers about scam text messages informing them they have received a penalty charge notice (PCN) parking ticket.
The texts, which are received out of the blue, include a link to click and pay – and motorists are being urged not to click the link, as it’s a scam.
Cheshire West and Chester Council is the latest to warn locals about the fake PCN texts, reports The Guardian. "“They may appear urgent or official, but they are not and include a link to a fake payment page," says the council’s Maria Byrne.
Fraudsters are also targeting drivers with ‘quishing’ scams involving fake QR codes on parking payment machines. It is being aided by the rise in app and phone-based parking payments, along with a record number of parking tickets being issued.
The scam PCN texts appear official, with mentions of the "issuing authority" and a notice number. They also mention the worrying risk of legal proceedings and county court judgements.
One scam text said that if motorists fail to pay within 14 days, "enforcement proceedings will be initiated immediately, which could result in substantial fines, legal action and serious financial consequences."
However, Chester West and Chester Council insisted it would never send out parking PCNs via text. Genuine PCNs are either issued as physical tickets stuck to a car windscreen, or sent by post.
The BPA told The Guardian: "Real PCNs are on physical paper and always include instructions on how to pay or appeal it."
A genuine parking notice will also include a vehicle registration, the time of the offence and the location of the infringement. "If it doesn’t have these three things, then it is a scam."
