Prosecutors in Northern California are warning drivers of a scam where fake traffic citations are sent via email or text message.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell issued a joint consumer alert on Wednesday describing the scheme, which appears to be part of a nationwide scam tricking people into making payments.
The messages are designed to look like official court communications and often carry titles such as “Toll Violation” and “Traffic Violation,” with a “notice of hearing” to gain the victim’s attention. The notices claim the recipient has a pending court hearing and offer an option to avoid it by paying fees through a QR code or link.
“Courts do not send traffic notices via text or email,” the district attorneys said in a statement.
Residents were urged not to click on any links or scan any QR codes from messages purporting to be from a court. Jenkins and Rosell also emphasized not to make any payments for court fees through a text message or email.
“It is unfortunate that scammers choose to prey upon the fears of law-abiding people,” Jenkins said, urging the public to ignore the notices and report them to law enforcement.
Rosell added that anyone who has interacted with the scammers should take immediate action by contacting the San Francisco DA’s office Consumer Protection Unit at 628-652-4311.
“It is imperative that recipients not click on any links in the message, change passwords if they do, and promptly contact law enforcement,” Rosell said.
This article originally published at San Francisco officials warn of phony traffic violation notices sent via text, email.