Bottom line: Police departments never send citations through email; do not open link.
You might want to think twice before opening up that email from your local police department.
A new scam posing as a speeding ticket has hit at least three residents in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. The ticket arrives via email and contains a link that loads malicious code onto the user’s computer.
The Simi Valley Police Department in California issued a warning about a similar type of scam on Monday.
What makes the scam particularly alarming is that the emails contain accurate traffic data, including street names, speed limits and actual driving speeds. The people who received the emails were actually speeding at the time and location noted in the scam emails.
Since the emails contain legitimate information, people are tricked into thinking they’re genuine and are more likely to click through the email….
Although the email requests payment within five days, no mechanism is in place to receive the fines. Instead, a link on the email that says it contains a photo of the victim’s license plate loads malware onto the user’s device when clicked….
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They should have known it was a fake government site because the website worked.