British drivers are being warned of ULEZ scams that could cost them thousands of pounds.
Scammers are using fake adverts that mimic the Transport for London website and falsely promise drivers that paying them will leave them exempt from ULEZ fines.
While several adverts of this kind have been taken down by Google, some drivers have been left out of pocket to the tune of hundreds of pounds.
Several drivers have been caught out by fake websites pretending to be the official TfL portal where the £12.50 charge is paid.
One victim, Bobby Sharp, 65, paid scammers £17.50 on two occasions to drive her non-ULEZ compliant diesel vehicle to the Chelsea Flower Show in May.
Ms Sharp said she was later left with £540 from TfL which she said left her “quite ill.”
She told the BBC: “Let’s just say I felt quite ill and quite faint afterwards because I thought I’d done the right thing by paying and then found out I hadn’t paid at all.
“TfL have not made it easy. Their official site is not user-friendly, whereas the scammers’ was so easy, and I thought “Well, I don’t know why I was so worried about this.”
The warning about ULEZ scammers comes just hours after the low emission zone was expanded to encompass the whole of London, leaving thousands more vulnerable to scams.
To try and catch those not paying the charge, around 2,750 cameras have been installed, but hundreds have been damaged by people against the charge.
A spokesperson for TfL said payments for road user charging schemes should only be made through their website.
They said in cases where someone has been fined they will look at their circumstances and show discretion where it is appropriate.
TfL said: “Payments for our road user charging schemes should only be made through the official Transport for London website.
“Unfortunately, internet search engines don’t always suggest the official TfL Pay to Drive web page at the top of their search results.
“This means that people may be offered a link to an unofficial payment site, which can often overcharge. We are sorry to hear of any customers who may have been caught out in this way.
“Where someone has been fined in relation to one of these cases, we do look at their circumstances and do show discretion where appropriate.”
