Drivers have been warned to make one vital check before paying their road tax to avoid being scammed out of hundreds of pounds.

As the Government prepares to roll out changes to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), better known as road tax, drivers are getting ready to pay more to keep their car covered.

However, Rhydian Jones, car insurance expert at Confused.com, warned that the change could see more scammers attempt to take advantage of unsuspecting motorists.

He explained: “Since the budget, drivers are coming to terms with the increase in Vehicle Excise Duty in any new petrol or diesel cars purchased next year, as well as new standard rate charge increases for all internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

“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.”

In particular, Confused.com warned drivers to be particularly careful surrounding emails telling motorists that their road tax is due to expire, encouraging them to pay their tax now by clicking a link inside the email.

Whilst the style and wording may be similar to that of the DVLA’s website, motorists could be giving their money and card details to a scammer.

To make matters worse, drivers may also receive a fine of up to £1,000 from the DVLA for driving their vehicle without road tax, with the Government organisation not receiving a penny.

In order to avoid the scam, Rhydian recommended that drivers carefully check when their current road tax is due to expire, with the DVLA typically only reaching out to motorists around a month before it ends.

He advised: “Check your records before making any payments. This way, if you receive an email at a time of year not close to your renewal date, you will know not to pay it.”

The DVLA also typically send a letter through the post when a driver’s road tax is due for renewal, which outlines details including the driver’s name and the number plate of their car – facts a scammer is unlikely to know.

The insurance expert suggested that drivers who are unsure whether their email is genuine or not should seek help from Confused.com’s tax checker tool, which shows when they will next need to pay.

He added: “Always be vigilant, your car tax need 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.”