None of us like receiving fines – but perhaps it’s even worse to hand-over your hard-earned money to a scammer when you’ve done nothing wrong.
If you’ve received a speeding fine via email – beware!
Since late last year, authorities have been warning the public about fake fines that are circulating online. The fraudsters hope that people will pay-up by handing-over their credit card details.
Alternatively, they infect computers with ransomware which takes-over or locks computer files, after which the scammers charge exorbitant fees to remove the virus.
Infringement notice scam
One lot of scam emails circulating earlier this year asked people to pay approximately $150 to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
In order to view their infringement notices, recipients were told to click on a link. Savvy users that hovered over the link would see that the web address was not that of the AFP at all, but a completely different one.
Clicking on the link took users to a website that looked like the legitimate AFP website. Once on the site, the user would be asked to enter the infringement notice number and download the notice.
But those who downloaded it were invaded by ransomware that encrypted computer files.
The hapless users were then asked to pay thousands of dollars to regain access to their own files.
The ransomware is called Cryptolocker. Unfortunately, computers infiltrated by Cryptolocker will be vulnerable to further attacks, and users who have paid to remove it may be asked for even more money later on.
An initial AFP analysis of the ransomware indicated that it originated from Russia.
Users are warned to be wary of emails said to originate from the AFP, the State Debt Recovery Office, Australian Tax Office, Australia Post, Office of State Revenue and other legitimate organisations.
Penalty notice scam
Another email scam hit in March this year.
Penalty notices were sent by email claiming to be from the NSW Office of State Revenue.
The OSR received reports of the scam from all around NSW, the ACT, Queensland and Victoria.
It was even reported overseas in New Zealand, France, Vietnam and Santorini – but not before many handed-over their credit card details.
How can I check if my fine is real?
Savvy scammers have gone to great lengths to make their notices and sites look legitimate.
So how can a user know they are being scammed?
Firstly, it is important to be aware that a real fine, or reminder penalty notice, will never come by email – it will be given on the spot or be sent by post.
If you have doubts about authenticity, do not give the sender your personal or financial details, or make a payment.
Instead, check the validity by either:
1. Calling the state debt recovery office, or
2. Going online to the SDRO office ‘my penalty’ page. Here you can enter the infringement number to verify its validity.
Be sure not to click on any unsolicited emails as you may expose your computer to a virus.
What should I do if I have received a fake notice?
Again, don’t open the email or click on links.
Delete it straight away and report the matter to the Australian Cyber Crime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) or ScamWatch.
It is also recommended that you immediately run anti-virus scan of your computer just to be on the safe side.
We hope you stay safe and avoid being scammed!
