E-mail parking ticket scam hits B.C.

If you receive a parking ticket via e-mail, read it carefully because it could be linked to a scam.

Tech experts are warning motorists that an apparent parking penalty notice is making the rounds.

These fraudulent tickets often look very legitimate.

“If you were to click on a link in a parking ticket scam like this, it could take you to a look-alike or similar site, which means it would be a phishing scam and then ask for your login details for that site or other personal information,” said Tristan Jutras from Limestone Learning.

Red flags to watch for include:

– no date, location or other information about the alleged parking infraction
– spelling mistakes and grammatical errors
– an e-mail address that has nothing to do with the organization it claims to be coming from

Jutras said it’s important not to click on any links or attachments included in the e-mail.

“If you were to click on that, it could very well install some sort of malware on your computer which could include ransomware which could lock your data until you paid a ransom for it,” he said.

To avoid e-mail scams, Jutras said it’s often best to simply stop and think.

“When you get this e-mail ask yourself if it makes sense,” he said.