How-2-Drive Brand Impersonation Scam

We have recently been made aware of an online scam that impersonates How-2-Drive. The scammers are currently using the personal email address how2driveuk2[@]gmail.com which is linked to a fake Facebook page.

The fraudsters are using this imitation persona to pretend to be our company, with the intention of getting people to transfer money into fraudulent bank accounts they control.

We want to make it clear that our systems have not been compromised. The scammers have set up a fake Facebook page using publicly-available materials lifted from How-2-Drive’s genuine Facebook page.

We understand how exciting it is to book your first driving lesson and that you will want to get started as soon as possible. However, we also don’t want your first experience to be a bad one because of fraudsters who are mis-using our brand.

This page goes into more detail about the nature of the scam, what to look out for to ensure you really are talking to us, and includes general advice on how to spot scams and what to do if you think you may be a victim.

We will keep this page updated with any further details so be sure to check back here if you are ever in any doubt about who you are communicating with or handing money over to.

What the scammers are doing

The scammers are currently running Facebook Ads that lead directly to a Facebook Messenger chat hosted by their fraudulent Business Page. They will typically agree to provide lessons in any location and on any day or time. Unlike a legitimate business, they can do this without hesitation because they have no intention of actually delivering the lessons. This is known as a Purchase Scam.

The fraudsters’ true intention is to get people to pay money into a compromised or fraudulent account that they control. They may also use the personal details they obtain from victims to launch further attacks against them, such as phishing or identity theft.

The Facebook Business Page linked to the Messenger chat may feature cyrillic characters (used by the Russian alphabet) that appear directly under the fake company name in the top bar of the chat. Watch out for anything that looks unusual. The genuine How-2-Drive only communicates in English.

How to ensure you’re talking to the genuine How-2-Drive

If you’re in doubt, carefully check the following details to make sure you’re really communicating with us:

Official How-2-Drive phone numbers

Our official customer service phone number is 01603 957 097, where one of our team will always be happy to help.

We don’t cold call potential learners so ignore anyone who calls you out of the blue and claims to be How-2-Drive.

Official How-2-Drive email addresses

Our email addresses always end in our official domain (@how-2-drive.com). We don’t use personal GMail (@gmail.com) or any other unbranded email accounts.

• All emails sent via the how-2-drive.com domain are authenticated by ‘how-2-drive.com’ and use what Gmail refers to as ‘Standard Encryption‘. Learn how to find out whether an email is authenticated.
• We don’t send unsolicited email, so you’ll only hear from us if you contact us first. If someone contacts you unexpectedly claiming to be from How-2-Drive, please let us know. If you’re in any doubt, contact us using one of the methods listed on our contact page.
• If you receive an email from the fake how2driveuk2[@]gmail.com account, report it as spam. You can help us to get this scam closed down more quickly by also reporting it to the National Cyber Security Centre by forwarding the email to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Official How-2-Drive social media profiles

These are the official How-2-Drive social media profiles:

How-2-Drive doesn’t use any other social media platforms or any other usernames.

Facebook

If you click an ad or a link on a post on Facebook that leads you to a page claiming to be How-2-Drive, you can check it is the official page by looking for the following things:

• Check the address bar: if you are using a web browser to access Facebook, the official web address for the How-2-Drive Facebook Business Page is: https://www.facebook.com/how2drive.drivingschool
• If you can’t see the web address because you are using the Facebook Android or iOS app:
  • Follow these steps to get the URL from the page and compare it to our official Facebook Business Page web address above.
  • Look for the blue check mark next to the business name. How-2-Drive’s official Facebook business page has been verified by Meta themselves so it has a blue verification badge.
  • Look at the number of reviews. Our official Facebook page has more than 550 5 star reviews – a fraudulent page is likely to have far fewer.
  • Check the date the page was set up. How-2-Drive was established in 2009 and our Facebook business page was created in 2014. Any Facebook page set up after this date that claims to be our business is fraudulent.

Search engines

Google Business Profile

When you search for “How-2-Drive” on Google, you will see our official Google Business Profile near the top of the results, alongside our website. At the time of writing, we have in excess of 2,200 reviews and a completed profile that details the services we offer and links to our genuine social media accounts.

If you encounter a Google Business Profile that claims to be ours, check the following details to figure out whether it is genuine:

• Number of reviews – there will be at least 2,200 reviews built up over a period stretching back many years
• Our registered business address is: Rose Lane Business Centre, 51-59 Rose Lane, Norwich NR1 1BY. Any business listing that uses an address outside of Norwich is not official.
• Check the links on the profile – do they lead to one of our official websites and social media channels or are they trying to divert you elsewhere?

How-2-Drive official domains

How-2-Drive has two official websites:

• Our main website (https://www.how-2-drive.com/), aimed primarily at learner drivers and driving instructors who either want to train with us in person or join our franchise.
• Our online learning platform, Learn with How-2-Drive (https://learn-with.how-2-drive.com/), aimed squarely at people who want to train as driving instructors.

We don’t publish any other websites. If you’re in any doubt about the website you’re looking at, follow the links above to ensure you’re in the right place.

Both of our websites use a secure connection (HTTPs). If you receive any warnings from your browser about the website you are visiting, do not continue – let us know by email at howard@how-2-drive.com.

How-2-Drive’s official contact details are listed on our contact page.

Link shortening service

We use the custom short URL domain h2d.rocks for creating easy to type shortcuts to our official websites. You may see this domain on our promotional materials or shared via social media. These short URLs normally look like this: https://h2d.rocks/norwich.

Official business registration details

How-2-Drive is a trading name of Floyd Driving Academy Limited, registered in England and Wales with the company number 09257802. Our registered address is:

The Union Building
51-59 Rose Lane
Norwich
England
NR1 1BY

Any company that uses a different address, registered business name or company number (or that isn’t registered in England) is not the genuine How-2-Drive.

How we do business at How-2-Drive

Making payments

We use the Total Drive app to connect you with your driving instructor so that you can pay them directly for lessons. We don’t demand payment upfront via social media, instant messaging or email, so ignore anybody who asks you to do this and report the matter to us.

How-2-Drive doesn’t sell insurance of any kind – so, if somebody claiming to be us asks you for an ‘insurance payment’, end the conversation immediately and let us know.

Welcoming you as a new learner

This is our process for getting you started with driving lessons:

1. First of all, we’ll have a friendly chat to figure out your needs and how we can help you. During this chat, we’ll establish when and where you want to take driving lessons.
2. If you’re happy to move forward, we’ll then take your basic details (name, address and phone number – but not your bank details).
3. At that point, we’ll be able to tell you who your driving instructor is going to be and chat with you about their experience and qualifications.
4. Finally, we’ll send you an invite to create an account with the Total Drive app. This will connect you directly with your instructor and allow you to pay them directly.

What to do if you think you’ve been scammed

We’re sorry to learn you may have been a victim of a scam. It is a truly uncomfortable experience but there are positive steps you can take to recover:

1. Contact your bank account provider and give them the details of the bank account you made the payment to and when. They may be able to recover your money, so it is important you do this as quickly as possible.
2. Report the incident to Report Fraud. Provide as many details about the scammers as possible.
3. Contact us to let us know about the scam. If you can send screenshots of any website or social media page / profile you’ve encountered and any conversation you may have had (without any of your personal details visible) this will help us to get fraudulent domains and accounts shut down more quickly.
4. If you’ve handed over personal details, you may wish to consider taking out a protective registration with CIFAS.

How you can help us to prevent scams

• Report any suspicious emails from the scammer’s email address (how2driveuk2[@]gmail.com) to the NCSC.
• Report any fraudulent social media pages you encounter using the built in tools the platform provides (check with us first if you are not sure which page is genuine or if you need help with reporting the page).

Protect yourself from scams

• Think twice before clicking ads on social media:
  • Are the claims too good to be true?
  • Is the price they’re offering significantly cheaper than the local competition? To give you a benchmark to compare against, a block of ten lessons with How-2-Drive costs £380. We will never pressure you to pay for a block booking upfront – that’s why we offer a half-price introductory lesson, so you can be sure you’re comfortable with your instructor before you commit to paying hundreds of pounds.
  • Has anybody commented or interacted with the ad – are there any signals that suggest this might be a scam?
• Consider the nature of any conversation you may be having:
  • Is somebody trying to get you to act before you’ve had a chance to think? Scammers use high-pressure tactics to get you to act quickly.
  • Are they too keen to be accommodating to your needs?
  • Are they making unrealistic promises?
• Look for the verified checkmark on social media business profiles and pages.
• If there’s ever any doubt, don’t hand over any personal details – and, most importantly, don’t make any bank transfers. Contact us directly through our official channels above.
• Learn more about Purchase Scams on the TakeFive to Stop Fraud website.