Fraudsters selling counterfeit exemption certification for London’s newly extended ultra low emission zone are advertising widely on social media, Sky News has found.
Adverts on Facebook Marketplace, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp claim to be able to make vehicles “ULEZ exempt” in as little as 24 hours using nothing more than the vehicle’s logbook.
Transport for London (TfL) says it is aware of criminals attempting to submit applications and has already removed “many” that it suspects of being fraudulent.
Generally, this means most petrol cars made before January 2006 and diesel cars made before September 2015 are now liable to pay the fee to drive in London. The only way drivers may avoid the payment while continuing to drive their non-compliant car is through upgrading the exhaust system or engine – which comes with a hefty price tag in the thousands.
However, the fraudsters uncovered by Sky News claim to be able to game the system to ensure even the most polluting car is registered as meeting ULEZ standards for a fee of up to £1,000.
One seller told Sky News they had successfully “processed” more than 100 vehicles using the method.
“We are working with the police to make sure the criminals face the consequences of their actions and are working closely with vehicle manufacturers to prevent fraudulent applications being successful,” a TfL spokesperson said.
Image: Sky News found adverts on four of the main social media platforms, as well as the messaging platform WhatsApp
Most of the listings relating to ULEZ exemptions on Facebook Marketplace are people selling used cars and vans where the seller has specified that the vehicle up for sale is exempt from the recently expanded ULEZ charges.
However, a short scroll reveals an altogether different type of listing also features in the search.
Sky News found five sellers on Facebook’s second-hand sales platform offering to get the status of vehicles previously deemed as non-compliant by TfL changed to say they meet emissions standards for prices ranging from £149 to £500.
A similar search on TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram reveals at least eight other similar profiles where the prices go up to £1,000 for larger vehicles.
Image: Sky News found adverts for this across four of the most popular social media platforms, as well as the messaging app WhatsApp
Each account appears to offer broadly the same service – where a car’s status is changed in a matter of days using just a small amount of information provided by the buyer.
Many of the sellers also outline that payment is only taken once TfL have confirmed the exemption has been granted.
Sky News went undercover using a fake social media profile to establish further information about the shady schemes.
One seller said they had been “processing” cars for more than a year and had successfully registered more than 100 vehicles as ULEZ compliant. They said all that was required for the status change to be successful are pictures of the vehicle’s VC5 logbook as well as the name and address to send correspondence to.
As proof of the scheme’s viability, Sky News received the licence plate number of two vehicles that the seller claimed to have successfully registered as compliant.
Using the TfL vehicle checker, Sky News found that the vehicles provided were listed as non-compliant on Sunday but appeared registered as meeting emissions standards the following morning.
Image: Sky News checked the number plates provided to us by the sellers online and found they were registered as compliant on TfL’s online portal
A further check of the licence plate using the public vehicle checker database shows both are diesel cars made before the September 2015 cut off date, meaning they fit the profile of a non-compliant vehicle.
Sky News was not able to verify whether either vehicle had been modified to meet emissions standards.
We found a similar outcome when we researched a licence plate number shared in an advert for these services posted by a TikTok user.
The vehicle was listed as a diesel car dating back to 2008 – therefore likely not meeting the ULEZ emissions standards. Like the others, however, it appeared as compliant with ULEZ on the TfL portal.
TfL says it is now investigating these instances after it was alerted to them by Sky News.
Most sellers were reluctant to reveal exactly how they could guarantee that the vehicles would be registered as ULEZ-compliant with TfL despite making no material alterations to the car.
However, one indicated to Sky News that counterfeit documents may be involved.
The seller told Sky News that they hold a certificate of conformity for the vehicle, which is sent to TFL before being processed by “an insider” to guarantee its success. They did not provide any evidence to support this claim.
TfL later confirmed to Sky News that they are investigating fraudulent activity relating to ULEZ exemptions.
“Drivers should not use the services advertised by these fraudsters as they will also be committing a criminal offence as well as wasting their money as their exemption will not stand,” a spokesperson for TfL said.
Other services claimed to be provided by some of the fraudsters include IDs, fake MOT certificates, speeding and red light ticket removal.
“These latest findings are really worrying as they indicate consumers could lose money and end up breaking the law themselves by trying to defraud TfL,” said Lisa Webb, Consumer Law expert at the consumer rights site Which?.
“Which? recently uncovered copycat websites that are ripping consumers off when they are trying to pay outstanding ULEZ charges, so opportunists are clearly out there trying to make a quick buck out of the ULEZ scheme.”
Both Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and Snapchat say they do not allow fraudulent activity on their platforms.
The Facebook and Instagram posts Sky News flagged in this article have now been taken down and the Snapchat accounts have been disabled.
TikTok did not respond to Sky News’ request for comment.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.
JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.
In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.
“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”
The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.
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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.
“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.
Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.
All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.
Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.
Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.
Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.
In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.
Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.
They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.
The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.
Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.
“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.
A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.
Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.
The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.
“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.
The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.
The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.
In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.
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Image: Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon
Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.
The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.
It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”
Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.