Motorists are being warned of new scams which could see criminals target drivers ahead of new car tax changes launching within a matter of weeks.
From April 1, almost all Britons will see their Vehicle Excise Duty prices rise as the Government looks to raise money and promote the sale of new electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles will be required to pay VED for the first time after former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the move in 2022 to ensure all motorists pay a fair share to be on the road.
At the same time, new first year rates will be introduced following an announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves during the Autumn Statement last October.
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Car tax changes introduced by Rachel Reeves will see drivers charged more from April
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First year rates for zero emission cars will rise to £10 a year until 2029-30, while all new vehicles emitting more than 76g of CO2 per kilometre will double from their current level.
This could result in people who want to buy the most polluting petrol and diesel vehicles paying as much as £5,490 in tax from April onward.
Rhydian Jones, Confused.com car insurance expert, warned that drivers were still coming to terms with changes introduced in the Autumn Budget, especially if they want to buy a new petrol or diesel car.
He also noted that motorists could be impacted by the new standard rate charge will increase for all new internal combustion engine vehicles.
Jones added: "The Chancellor has brought this decision in to widen the gap between electric and ICE vehicles, as EVs will only have to pay £10 in VED from next year. The hope is that this will encourage more drivers to buy green instead.
"However, some drivers are being tricked by VED payment requests which are in fact scams, and are being warned to avoid these."
He called on drivers to look out for common factors which could indicate that they are being scammed, including checking their records before making any payments.
This will help them know if they are being scammed if their renewal date is at a different time of the year. Drivers should also be wary of any spelling mistakes or strange formatting in emails or texts.
Scams may also originate from "strange" email addresses which do not match up with an official address from the Department for Transport or the DVLA.
Jones continued, saying: "If you do end up clicking a link from a scam email or text, you could end up losing a lot of money.
"Always be vigilant; your car tax needs to be renewed once per year and drivers can use our tax checker tool to see if their car is taxed and how long it has left.
"That way, you are less likely to fall for any unexpected notifications that could be trying to catch you out."
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her first Budget in October and unveiled new car tax measures
PAApril 1 will also see standard VED rates for cars, vans and motorcycles rise in line with the Retail Price Index, as has become the norm in recent years.
The Chancellor hinted that further tax changes could be made for electric vehicles in the future through amendments to the Expensive Car Supplement.
This currently applies to vehicles which cost more than £40,000, with the Budget acknowledging that it could have a "disproportionate impact" on motorists looking to buy electric vehicles.
However, the Government said it would only "consider raising the threshold for zero emission cars only at a future fiscal event, to make it easier to buy electric cars".
