BC residents questioning authenticity of speeding violation text messages

Fraudulent PayBC website

Text messages telling BC residents they’ve been caught speeding are leading to some confusion.

Some folks have shared the text messages they’ve received on Reddit with a link to a PayBC website.

While the PayBC website is legitimate, the links people are receiving via text messages are not legitimate; they are fraudulent websites that look like the real thing.

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Here’s one example of a text someone new to Canada received that was shared on Reddit.

New to Canada, this is spam right?
byu/Pyro_Funto inbritishcolumbia

The website warns the impacted customers to pay to “avoid a court appearance.”

The Reddit post received many upvotes and over a hundred comments about the scam.

When you go to the link, it takes you to a website asking the “violator” to pay $22.85, and it asks them to input their personal information.

Many people pointed out apparent signs as to why it’s definitely a scam, like the fact that it isn’t even a BC-based number texting the speeder but a Quebec area code.

Many thanked the original poster for sharing the info:

Comment
byu/Pyro_Funto from discussion
inbritishcolumbia

Daily Hive has learned some more information about the text messages.

“We are aware of a text message scam that has been circulating recently, in which recipients are being notified of a speeding ticket. The message includes an online link and advises the recipient to pay the ticket to avoid a court date,” The BC Ministry of Public Safety said.

“ICBC does not send text messages to customers about traffic violation tickets or payment requests. If you receive such a text, please ignore or delete the message, as it is a scam.”

Have you received one of these scam text messages about speeding in BC? Let us know in the comments.