Police, mayor issue speedy warnings about scam photo-radar texts

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/03/2024 (543 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many Manitobans received text messages Thursday claiming they were caught speeding by photo-radar cameras in Winnipeg, but it was just another bid by scammers to con people out of money.

People were warned not to click on the link within the message or, if they do, not to enter any personal or credit card information if the page that opens mimics the city’s website or a ticket payment portal.

“What worries me is somebody might not be aware of that and click on the link,” said Morris resident Monique Rowland, who received the text shortly before 7:30 a.m. “These days, you hear about people losing thousands of dollars (to fraud).

“It’s not just people in Winnipeg who are getting this text. It’s all over the place. It could be from anywhere.”

The most common variation of the phishing scam claimed the recipient was caught driving 57 km/h in a 30 km/h school zone on March 18, which was still four days away.

After being contacted by police who received messages, the Winnipeg Police Service warned people to delete the text and block the sender.

“This is completely a scam,” spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said in a video posted on WPS social media accounts. “We have not done a radar ticket for you, and just to know, the city never issues a speeding violation by text message.

“Delete the text, block the sender, do not pay the ticket, do not click on the link.”

Manitoba RCMP and Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham also warned about the scam.

“Scam alert: The City of Winnipeg doesn’t send speeding violations via text… and we don’t engage in time travel either,” he wrote on Facebook. “If you receive a text like this, hit delete instead of the link.”

Gillingham’s spokesman, Colin Fast, said the mayor did not receive the text, but several people at city hall did.

Fast said he received it twice.

Several readers contacted the Free Press about the con.

Winnipeg resident Candida Sousa-Lopes said the text she received shortly after 11 a.m. did not include a date and did not mention “traffic radar.”

The text began with “Automatic parking (Winnipeg) message,” and claimed she was caught doing the same speed in a 30 km/h zone.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, did I actually,’ because we all pass by them,” she said, referring to photo radar cameras. “I thought, ‘How did they have my phone number?’ Those damn scammers.

“Be really careful. Even though it might look legit, double-check.”

The sender’s digits were presented as a Nova Scotia phone number. Scammers often spoof a phone number when they text or call, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

The scam or similar versions have been making the rounds in Canada. B.C.’s government warned of a similar scam March 7, which imitated an online payment portal.

Winnipeg police, meanwhile, warned of a separate scam Thursday, after multiple victims lost thousands of dollars to fraudsters.

McKinnon said people have received emails stating the sender is willing to transfer money to them electronically.

The fake notification asks people to submit their financial information.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Wednesdays

A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom.

Sign up for Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

“Do not do this. Never, ever put in your financial institution or any personal information,” said McKinnon.

If a person enters their bank account details, a fraudster can “breach” the account and steal their money, she said.

RCMP recently charged a 32-year-old man with fraud over $5,000, after he allegedly conned a 79-year-old Stonewall woman out of $16,000 in a grandparent scam.

The victim handed over cash after receiving phone calls from people posing as her grandson and a lawyer, who claimed the relative needed bail money.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.