Notts: Five arrested after government website scam

The swift move came about after Bassetlaw residents seeking to renew their passports were victims of the made up government websites that Mann admits look ‘official’.

John Mann, a local MP, said: “Over the years people have come to me because they have got caught up in this nasty scam when they have tried to apply for a passport. From experience, anyone can get caught by this, it even happened to one of my staff members a number of years ago.

“I’ve found that people do a search on Google and these fake websites appear at the top of the list. They look official and only it’s later on after people have handed over their card details and paid out money do they realise that they have been caught out.

“This is usually when the passport never turns up or they receive a blank application form through the post.

“I have previously raised this issue with the Government, Trading Standards and Google asking that they block the websites so I was pleased to see action being taken and arrests being made. These people have caused misery and financial hardship and the book needs to be thrown at them.”