I am about to turn 70 and went to order my new driving licence online. The first website which popped up tried to charge me just under £70. Luckily, I realised I was being scammed but I am surprised such websites are still able to con people. How can they get away with it?

ME, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex

You can, indeed, renew your driving licence online with DVLA free of charge if you’re 70 or over – or if you are going to turn 70 in the 90 days following your application. You can apply using the Government Gateway ID you need for your self-assessment tax return. If you don’t have one, or need to re-register, you’ll get an ID as part of your application.

This is another case of unscrupulous operators setting up illegal copycat websites which impersonate official government services to sell passports, driving licences and other key documents for unnecessary fees.

Report this website to Action Fraud, online or (only if you are in the UK) on 0300 123 2040. It will then be passed to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau to see if it can be used as part of a police investigation.

With the peak holiday booking season underway, we urge readers to be ultra cautious of travel-related copycat websites for the Esta permit (the US’s online visa system) and the free health insurance EHIC card. You can normally tell if a site is official if it ends in “.gov.uk”, it has the department, agency or authentic logo.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions: http://gu.com/letters-terms