Fake traffic infringement emails doing the rounds in NSW
- 04 November, 2014 10:50
Authorities in New South Wales are warning people to delete fake traffic infringement notices sent to them via email.
The email claims to be from the NSW Office of State Revenue (OSR) or State Debt Recovery Office (SDRO) and demands payment for speeding or other traffic infringements.
However, neither the OSR nor SDRO issue fines and penalty notices via email.
According to OSR Commissioner of Fines Administration, Tony Newbury, an analysis of the emails suggests that the scammers are based in Denmark and Russia.
"This is a very sophisticated attack and while the scam emails and prompts may look genuine, they are 100 per cent fake and I urge people not to pay these fraudulent fines,” he said in a statement.
“For those who have unfortunately paid the fine, contact your bank or financial institution in the first instance.”
If people receive a traffic infringement notice via email, they can log on to the SDRO website and enter the infringement number and offence date to check if it is real, said Newbury.
People can also phone the SDRO call centre on 1300 655 805 to check if the fine is genuine or a scam.
If the email is a scam, consumers are encouraged to report it to the NSW Police, NSW Fair Trading or the Australian federal government’s SCAMwatch website.
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