Fraudulent text messages demanding money are circulating in the province of Quebec, forcing authorities to issue warnings to drivers as they are the targets of the latest phishing scam.
Unknown numbers have been sending out text messages with malicious links demanding drivers pay up for a recent speeding ticket in a school zone or crossing a toll bridge.
The company that manages the Olivier-Charbonneau bridge, connecting Laval and Montreal has issued a warning on its website.
The transit organization is urging recipients of the text not to interact with the fraudulent message.
Just tapping the link could have serious repercussions according to a statement, even leading to having your personal information, “including banking details stolen,” the warning reads.
Technology analyst Carmi Levy says phishing scams have become more prominent and dangerous in recent years with the introduction of artificial intelligence.
The ruse, he says, has become increasingly more difficult to detect.
“The acceleration of artificial intelligence in your day-to-day life is making a bad situation worse. It’s putting much more sophisticated tools into the hands of cybercriminals, who are creating customized, very targeted and focused emails that look incredibly real,” Levy said.
“We need to recognize A.I. is now a threat when it falls into the wrong hands. We have to be more vigilant than ever before.”
Concession A25 is asking recipients to report the text immediately before deleting the message.
They also stress, ” If you have supplied your financial information, including credit card details, get in touch with your financial institution straight away.”
As an important reminder the transportation authority says they never transmit information or billing requests via text message.