Traffic Chief Mahendra Singh is warning the public about a fraudulent scheme involving fake text messages purporting to be official traffic fine notices, as authorities investigate reports that some persons have already fallen victim to the scam.
The scam falsely claim recipients have outstanding traffic fines and threaten legal action, financial penalties or court proceedings unless payment is made within a specified period.
Recipients are also directed to a fraudulent website where they are encouraged to provide personal and financial information.
Singh, in an interview with the News Room on Tuesday, explained that the Safe Road Intelligent System (SRIS) only sends an SMS notifying motorists that a speeding offence has been committed.
“When you get that SMS text message, it does come directly from GPF E-ticket. It’s a number that you see, each of the carriers, ENet, GTT or Digicel, that’s how you know you get an e-ticket,” Singh said.
He explained that the initial text message is followed within 24 hours by an email notice providing details of the offence, including the date, time and location of the incident, the speed at which the vehicle was travelling, how far above the speed limit it was and the relevant court details.
According to Singh, the fraudulent messages are noticeably different from legitimate notifications.
“Both of these things which you receive from what we would call a scammer, they are very lengthy and they give you a link to go to and if you notice when you go to the link you have to utilise a bank card to make the payment,” he said.
Singh stressed that MMG and the Clerk of Court are the only authorised methods of paying speeding tickets in Guyana.
He disclosed that some persons have already been scammed and made payments through the fraudulent links. Those individuals are being urged to report the matter to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) so investigations can be carried out.
Police have since launched an investigation into the scheme and will continue to advise the public on how to identify and avoid the scam.
“So an investigation now is being done and that will prove the origination of this thing and who might be liable,” Singh said.
Addressing concerns about how scammers may have obtained motorists’ information, Singh said while he could not say exactly how the data was accessed, existing data protection measures remain in place.
“The access to info I couldn’t say how they access it but one of the things that we must recognise in the environment in which we operate is that person/s are very skilled, they have their way with technology and as good as the technology is for us and everyone else it’s good for them too…they manipulate systems and/or what is established to suit themselves,” Singh explained.
He also urged individuals to take the necessary steps to safeguard their personal information and remain vigilant so they know what actions they should and should not take when receiving such messages.
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