Kingston police are warning about a text message scam asking drivers to “immediately” pay unpaid parking tickets.
The messages, which have been reported to both the city and police, purport to be from an agency called the “Ontario Ticket Department” and ask the receiver to click on a link to resolve unpaid parking tickets.
Police say no such agency exists and unpaid parking tickets cannot be paid via text message.
Investigators say the text messages are examples of a scam they call “smishing.”
“They are a type of phishing, which is an attempt to trick people into revealing sensitive data such as personal information, banking details, credit card numbers and passwords,” police said in a media release Wednesday.
“Scammers using phishing techniques like smishing hope you will trust the link, follow up and then provide them with data they can use.”
More information about frauds and scams is available on the Kingston police website.
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