PENNSYLVANIA, USA — If you received a text message with an intimidating looking paper warning you blew a toll in Philadelphia and must to scan a QR code to pay a fine, it’s not from a court trying to collect. It’s from a crook trying to pick your pocket.
The Philadelphia Courts issued a statewide warning Sunday that scammers are trying to get people to hand over money by scaring them with text messages claiming they owe money for highway tolls. It’s the latest of a long line of schemes to try and use technology to steal money from others.
The text message contains an image of a pink sheet of paper that tries to jolt the readers into quickly taking action by presenting them with a March 9 deadline to pay the “fine.”
A cursory review of the purported notice turns up many red flags.
A generic “John Smith” is the supposed clerk of courts (and the judge, no less), the docket number does not exist (or even follow a format used in state courts) and the seal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania contains typographical errors so confounding that artificial intelligence involvement is a certainty.
The only points the scammers managed to get right were the state vehicle codes for fare evasion and the address for Philadelphia’s traffic court.
Amateurish in presentation, the texts have nonetheless found a wide audience throughout the state.
“The Courts have been hearing from people throughout Pennsylvania who have received these fraudulent text message,” said a spokesperson for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
If you got one, ignore it and stay away from the QR code the notice contains. Real courts will not send text messages demanding payment for anything and will never request Social Security numbers or credit card information over the phone or via text.
The courts recommended those who fell victim to contact their local police departments, or the state Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection at 800-441-2555.
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