The Regina Police Service would like to advise the public of a scam that has been going around recently. Already today, the Regina Police Service Communications Centre has had more than 25 phone calls reporting this scam. Fortunately, none of the callers so far have been victims.
The “traffic violation” scam is an email that is sent, telling you that you have been issued with a “rule infringement”, or “speed violation”. They will instruct you that documentation will be mailed to you, but to clear up the situation now, you can click the link provided and pay now. Do not click the link; send that email straight to your trash can.
If you were ever issued a ticket, we would not send it to you in this manner. There are other “clues” to help you determine the legitimacy of the e-mail: check the “sent from” address. Police and government agencies will not use Hotmail accounts to send you information. Check to see if the same e-mail is being sent to multiple recipients. The lack of address/specific information where the so-called infringement occurred or your license plate number will also be clues that this is indeed a scam.
To report the existence or recurrence of phone or email scams contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501) to make a report. Anyone who has been a victim of this type of scam, or any other, is asked to come into the Front Desk of the Regina Police Service to make a report. If you have not been a victim, we appreciate that you want to make us aware, but you are not required to call the Regina Police Service. More information about recognizing scams is available at http://www.reginapolice.ca/resources/crime/crime-prevention-tips/recognize-a-scam/.
