Northumberland County Court Services is urging residents to exercise vigilance with a “speeding ticket” text scam circulating locally.
“The county has been alerted that some members of the public are receiving fraudulent text messages from phone numbers and emails claiming to be from the ‘Ontario Courts’ or contact addresses such as ‘pay@ontario-traffictickets.com,’” said staff, in a public notice issued Tuesday, Jan. 7.
These texts often refer to speeding or parking tickets that require payment – these messages may include malicious links that could put your personal information at risk, reads the notice.
Northumberland County Court Services doesn’t contact people by text.
Residents are being urged to never click any suspicious links asking for ticket payment or personal information by text.
To securely check the status of a ticket or pay a fine, staff said people should contact the office directly by calling 905-372-3329 ext. 5300 or visit Northumberland.ca/Tickets.
Residents who receive such texts should report the message as spam to cellular providers and discard the message, added officials.
More cybersecurity safety tips are accessible online.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)