Receiving a text message to pay a traffic violation fine, a young man almost fell into a scam trap

(Dan Tri) - Just one day after being recorded by traffic police, Hoang received a text message asking to pay a fine through the fake website National Public Service Portal. Discovering an abnormality during payment, he promptly stopped.

The message arrived just in time to be recorded

One day after being recorded for a traffic violation, Hoang received a text message informing him of the fine amount with a link requesting payment.

Before that, Hoang had just been stopped by traffic police and issued a violation record. The officer on duty informed him of the time and location for him to go to the authorities to resolve the case.

So, when a message appeared on his phone with the general content: "The system has recorded your fine with the file code... please pay the fine via the following link", Hoang hardly thought this could be a trap.

The moment the message was sent made everything even more convincing. Hoang has just committed an actual violation, which has been recorded and is awaiting resolution. The content of the message mentioned paying a fine, making him think that this could be the next step in the handling process.

Due to anxiety, Hoang clicked on the attached link. The website that opened was relatively well designed, from the colors, layout to the information input fields, all creating a feeling similar to the Public Service Portal he had visited before.

Not detecting any obvious abnormalities, Hoang continued to fill in the requested information.

Only at the payment step did he hesitate.

The amount displayed on the website is 200,000 VND lower than the fine that Hoang knew he had to pay. The fact that an administrative fine was suddenly "discounted" made him suspicious.

Instead of continuing to pay, Hoang took a screenshot and posted it on social networks to ask. Many people immediately warned that the link he accessed showed signs of a fake website.

Not only Hoang, Ms. Thuong, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, also said that recently she has continuously received messages showing signs of being fake.

On August 18, a notification message appeared on her phone related to "cold fines", with a link directing users to a page introduced as a public service.

Unlike Hoang, Ms. Thuong did not click on the link but carefully checked the attached address. A small detail made her immediately wary: the phrase "dichvycong" appeared in the link instead of "dichvucong".

It's just one wrong character, but if you skim it on the phone screen, especially when you're worried when you see a traffic violation notice, it's easy for users to ignore it.

For older people or those with little experience using online services, the panic when suddenly receiving notices of violations, money owed or parcel problems is even more easily exploited by thieves.

Do not announce "cold fines" via text message or phone call

Information from Hanoi City Police said that recently, many people received text messages notifying them of traffic violations, often called "cold fines", and were then asked to access the link to check and pay.

According to Hanoi City Police, this is a fraudulent tactic to appropriate property. The website created by the subjects has an interface similar to the National Public Service Portal to create trust for visitors.

After the victim enters the bank card number, OTP code or other personal data, the fraudster can take control of the card and withdraw money from the account.

The police therefore advise people not to access strange links sent via text messages, and not provide card information, OTP or account passwords without clearly verifying the origin.

Notably, Hanoi City Police affirmed that there is currently no form of notification of violations of traffic order and safety via text message or phone.

In cases of violation, the police will send a written notice and invite vehicle owners, organizations or individuals involved to come to the headquarters to work according to regulations.

When receiving a violation notice from the authorities, people need to go directly to the address listed in the notice, instead of following instructions from a strange phone number or accessing links of unknown origin.

In case people want to proactively check whether the vehicle has violations or not, people can visit the website of the Traffic Police Department at csgt.vn or use VNeTraffic, an application operated by the Traffic Police Department, Ministry of Public Security.