Red Light Tickets

Red Light Ticket Scam: How It Works

The traffic infringement scams are back, in both the United States and Australia. Let’s take a look.

In the US, scammers call households claiming to be representatives of the local Department of Public Safety (DPS) or the police. They inform the owners they have a red light traffic fine pending, threatening the suspension of their driver’s license or with huge interest rates.

To make it sound more realistic, scammers not only use official language, but they give the location of the red light (if the crooks are local, they use a well-known intersection that has a camera). However, to seem friendly, they will conveniently offer the victims the choice of paying through the phone.

A second variation of the traffic fine comes currently from Australia. The motorists receive an email scam that requests payment for a bogus AFP Traffic Infringement Notice. The scam email initially asks the recipient to pay an ‘AFP fine’ of approximately $150. If links within the message are clicked, the recipient’s computer is infected with malware which renders it inoperable.

According to AFP, “at that point ransomware is activated where the recipient is asked to pay thousands of dollars to reactivate their computer.

 

Red Light Ticket Scam: How To Avoid

In the first scenario the police (nor the Department of Public Safety) will ever call drivers about their red light tickets, so don’t fall for it. Needless to say, the victims who are falling the most for this scam are the ones that actually ran the red light recently and might expect a fine.

Make sure you drive carefully and stop at the lights. In the second variation, ignore the email and delete it.

 

Red Light Ticket Scam: How To Report

Make your family and friends aware of this scam by sharing it on social media using the buttons provided. You can also officially report the scammers to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using the link below:

Report To The FTC Here

 

How to protect yourself more:

If you want to be the first to find out the most notorious scams every week, feel free to subscribe to the Scam Detector newsletter here. You’ll receive periodical emails and we promise not to spam. Last but not least, use the Comments section below to expose other scammers.


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selma hrynchuk
Selma HrynchukSelma is a fraud prevention specialist renowned for her expertise in private eye investigations and a remarkable partnership with law enforcement agencies. Beyond her investigative triumphs, her public speaking engagements and written works have empowered countless individuals to protect themselves and stay ahead of deceptive schemes. Selma's legacy shines as a tenacious agent of change, unyielding in her commitment to battling fraud and ensuring a safer world for all.

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