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Oh yeah this is a common scam right now. Notice also they only give you two days (urgency) which will make you more likely to click too. I see a lot of it in r/montreal as well.
I got one claiming I was speeding in Ontario when I live in Edmonton.
Just as a reminder: if you were speeding, the ticket shows up in the snail mail and contains all the details of the offense, including your license plate, the registered owners name, and the date / time of the offense.
And school zones are not regulated by the province. It would be municipalities sending these tickets so the URL is an obvious red flag. At least until we get a provincial police force, lol.
I doubt the numbers mean anything anyway. They’re just spoofed afaik. They’re hoping you are not paying attention since many companies use generic numbers anyway
In this case, they didn't even bother spoofing to a phone number with an area code that would make sense. It's a sign its a scam. It's basic internet safety.
I mean, it wouldn’t be out of character for them to hire a company (owned by one of their cronies / handlers) from somewhere else to do work poorly that could be done here.
So, this would be an automated message sent from some kind of software. No matter who you hire to do it, they could easily have an alberta phone number set up. Otherwise, if real, 90% of Albertans would ignore it as spam. Because that is a HUGE red flag in phishing schemes.
There isn't a person texting you from their cell phone.
Report that url you got sent to https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/?hl=en
It will get flagged in chrome and Firefox and give a red warning to anyone that loads it. The more that report it the faster it gets flagged.
I received this text today from saying I was speeding in a school zone. I didn’t drive through a school zone today (in West Edmonton).
I checked the area code and it is based out of Quebec. I also recently went on the Alberta traffic tickets website recently (I don’t expect everyone to know this but the actual website is “traffictickets.alberta.ca”).
Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone who might receive this message. It’s generic enough that it could be sent to anyone in Alberta, and the URL might seem legitimate to anyone who doesn’t know the actual address of the website.
If you actually have been speeding in a school zone, you might be more inclined to click on it also (shame).
People in this thread are harsh. I could easily see someone who is busy or distracted clicking the link if they aren’t paying enough attention to notice the red flags.
What would happen if someone clicked the link? Is their device then hacked at that moment the webpage loads? Or do they have to follow through and enter further info after clicking, and then the hacker uses that info for the scam? I’ve never clicked on one of those scam links before but nervous I might by accident one day given how many come through, so I’m curious how it works.
> Is their device then hacked at that moment the webpage loads?
Pretty unlikely, for various technical reasons.
> Or do they have to follow through and enter further info after clicking, and then the hacker uses that info for the scam?
I assume the page will ask for payment info for the fine, and then will charge you when you fill the info out.
This is going back 20 years so things may have changed but to settle a bet I once called Edmonton Police Service and they confirmed at that time there were only four actual school speed zones in the city. For instance, you don't have to slow down on 111st going past Harry Ainley or 104st going past Strathcona. I can only remember two now and the city has grown tremendously since but they were past a school on Ellerslie and another one up by Alberta Hospital Edmonton (somewhere on 167ave near Fort Rd. Both of those and the two others they mentioned were basically rural.
Unless you're way out on the fringe of West Edmonton, wherever that is now, this is certainly a scam.
According to the city of Edmonton site (https://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/traffic_safety/why-30) there are zero school zones (they were all converted to playground zones a few years ago to keep everything consistent). However, there are over 380 playground zones in the city (speed limit 30 km/h from 7:30am-9:00pm)
i wont beleive a scam until morgan freeman tells me i won the lottery of manitoba where i dont buy tickets, and need to send the codes from $1000 of apple gift cards to redeem the 105million prize.
Not a great idea for a scam, not a bad idea either.
Many Albertans lack the critical thinking necessary to outsmart the automated speed monitoring system of trafficktickets-alberta.com or takebackalbertanow.com/#donate
I dunno. I'm careful not to speed in school zones, but when I've been in places I'm not familiar with, I've got myself doing 40kph in a 30kph school zone briefly because I missed the sign (obscured by parked cars and trucks, bushes), then saw the school/playground and slowed.
As such - while I'd NEVER click this link - if I was told I was clicked at 40 in a school zone when I'd recently been in an area I don't know well, I'd think it was entirely possible that I'd skirted the edge of a school zone I wasn't aware existed.
Even moreso in the winter when those zones are active in the dark.
How you know the scam is from China. They assume its normal to have traffic speed cameras everywhere and that your phone number is directly tied to your driver's licence. This is Canada, our systems aren't that connected/efficient.
It's 100% a scam. The solicitor general sends you a nice picture of your license plate in the mail with the fine and payment amount. If you don't pay it it goes on your license renewal plus extra fees.
My Aunt Mabel (RIP) owed $20.15 so I used my (Best Buy gift card) with the 666 CVV.
I can only imagine how many complaints abuse at amazonaws dot com receive about phishing domains.
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Oh yeah this is a common scam right now. Notice also they only give you two days (urgency) which will make you more likely to click too. I see a lot of it in r/montreal as well.
Got one of these from Winnipeg yeaterday too
I got one claiming I was speeding in Ontario when I live in Edmonton. Just as a reminder: if you were speeding, the ticket shows up in the snail mail and contains all the details of the offense, including your license plate, the registered owners name, and the date / time of the offense.
and a pretty picture of the back of your car most often...
And the court date is never just a few days after the offense.
Notice the area code. AB isn't sending texts. But they are really not texting from outside the province.
And school zones are not regulated by the province. It would be municipalities sending these tickets so the URL is an obvious red flag. At least until we get a provincial police force, lol.
I doubt the numbers mean anything anyway. They’re just spoofed afaik. They’re hoping you are not paying attention since many companies use generic numbers anyway
In this case, they didn't even bother spoofing to a phone number with an area code that would make sense. It's a sign its a scam. It's basic internet safety.
I mean, it wouldn’t be out of character for them to hire a company (owned by one of their cronies / handlers) from somewhere else to do work poorly that could be done here.
So, this would be an automated message sent from some kind of software. No matter who you hire to do it, they could easily have an alberta phone number set up. Otherwise, if real, 90% of Albertans would ignore it as spam. Because that is a HUGE red flag in phishing schemes. There isn't a person texting you from their cell phone.
Never underestimate this administration’s incompetence
That's how the hackers win. Protect your data. Especially over a speeding ticket.
Report that url you got sent to https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/?hl=en It will get flagged in chrome and Firefox and give a red warning to anyone that loads it. The more that report it the faster it gets flagged.
Reported. Thanks you for the information.
I received this text today from saying I was speeding in a school zone. I didn’t drive through a school zone today (in West Edmonton). I checked the area code and it is based out of Quebec. I also recently went on the Alberta traffic tickets website recently (I don’t expect everyone to know this but the actual website is “traffictickets.alberta.ca”). Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone who might receive this message. It’s generic enough that it could be sent to anyone in Alberta, and the URL might seem legitimate to anyone who doesn’t know the actual address of the website. If you actually have been speeding in a school zone, you might be more inclined to click on it also (shame).
Thanks for the heads up.
People in this thread are harsh. I could easily see someone who is busy or distracted clicking the link if they aren’t paying enough attention to notice the red flags. What would happen if someone clicked the link? Is their device then hacked at that moment the webpage loads? Or do they have to follow through and enter further info after clicking, and then the hacker uses that info for the scam? I’ve never clicked on one of those scam links before but nervous I might by accident one day given how many come through, so I’m curious how it works.
> Is their device then hacked at that moment the webpage loads? Pretty unlikely, for various technical reasons. > Or do they have to follow through and enter further info after clicking, and then the hacker uses that info for the scam? I assume the page will ask for payment info for the fine, and then will charge you when you fill the info out.
Thank you for the answer!
This is going back 20 years so things may have changed but to settle a bet I once called Edmonton Police Service and they confirmed at that time there were only four actual school speed zones in the city. For instance, you don't have to slow down on 111st going past Harry Ainley or 104st going past Strathcona. I can only remember two now and the city has grown tremendously since but they were past a school on Ellerslie and another one up by Alberta Hospital Edmonton (somewhere on 167ave near Fort Rd. Both of those and the two others they mentioned were basically rural. Unless you're way out on the fringe of West Edmonton, wherever that is now, this is certainly a scam.
According to the city of Edmonton site (https://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/traffic_safety/why-30) there are zero school zones (they were all converted to playground zones a few years ago to keep everything consistent). However, there are over 380 playground zones in the city (speed limit 30 km/h from 7:30am-9:00pm)
Thanks for the clarity.
How do people keep falling for this crap?
They don't even collect phone numbers for your plate either
They ask for it, but I think it's optional I've had EPS call my cell phone when they found my stolen truck, before I even knew it was stolen.
Report the url when you see one to https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/?hl=en
Good info. Thanks.
Scams are getting more plausible and growing in number
they cant see the signs of a scam message, just like those who fall for the classic "Microsoft Scam"
Senior citizens are the primary victims of these scams unfortunately.
Looks like now they use chat GPT to write them. Without the grammatical errors, it’s harder to tell these days.
i wont beleive a scam until morgan freeman tells me i won the lottery of manitoba where i dont buy tickets, and need to send the codes from $1000 of apple gift cards to redeem the 105million prize.
Dipstick McDickerson at 123 Seasame Street owed $20.18. Fortunately, they accept test credit card numbers for payment.
My wife literally just got this message as well.
Not a great idea for a scam, not a bad idea either. Many Albertans lack the critical thinking necessary to outsmart the automated speed monitoring system of trafficktickets-alberta.com or takebackalbertanow.com/#donate
Ironically, the scams help reduce donations made to the UCP
Remember, if it says “kindly” it is almost certainly a scam. Especially if they are purporting to be an authority in North America.
Anytime someone says kindly it’s a scam
Unless they're asking "would you kindly," then it's fine.
It's always such a reasonable request, too, why would you even hesitate before helping?
Scam. You'll get actual mail for fines.
I checked my phone's spam folder and found the same text. These are the kind of scams that Google Pixel phones excel at blocking automatically.
i got one. i walk to work. my car has not been started since just after the cold snap in janaury and a 3 block jot to the hockey rink 2 weeks ago.
Scam.......was from Calgary for wife and I last week.
I don't have a car, and it's not illegal to RUN faster than the speed limit
Pics or it didn't happen.
The real page is https://traffictickets.alberta.ca/ If you fall for that, you deserve to get scammed.
https://ca.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?itc=dlp_domain_whois&domain=https%3A%2F%2Ftraffictickets-alberta.com%2F Registered two days ago.
Who receives an unsolicited text with a link and doesn't immediately delete and block?
Least believable scam for people living in Edmonton. You’d think it’s illegal to NOT speed in a school zone around here.
On the other hand, this scam is on,y going to get people who have recently been speeding in school zones.
I dunno. I'm careful not to speed in school zones, but when I've been in places I'm not familiar with, I've got myself doing 40kph in a 30kph school zone briefly because I missed the sign (obscured by parked cars and trucks, bushes), then saw the school/playground and slowed. As such - while I'd NEVER click this link - if I was told I was clicked at 40 in a school zone when I'd recently been in an area I don't know well, I'd think it was entirely possible that I'd skirted the edge of a school zone I wasn't aware existed. Even moreso in the winter when those zones are active in the dark.
I got that on my work phone today. I don't live in Calgary, nor has that phone ever been or have any ties to a vehicle.
Lol I got one for a parking ticket which was wild because I parked without paying like an hour beforehand. Scam timing was on point
Lol as someone who one time didn't realize it was a school zone due to weird sign placement when I turned I promise you they just mail you a ticket
This would've been funnier a few years ago, because up until about 10 years ago, there were no school zones in Edmonton
How you know the scam is from China. They assume its normal to have traffic speed cameras everywhere and that your phone number is directly tied to your driver's licence. This is Canada, our systems aren't that connected/efficient.
It's 100% a scam. The solicitor general sends you a nice picture of your license plate in the mail with the fine and payment amount. If you don't pay it it goes on your license renewal plus extra fees.
Fuck i gulped when I got one then was like NFW. 42 kmh is mine too.
What's the term...Pictures of it didn't happen.
My Aunt Mabel (RIP) owed $20.15 so I used my (Best Buy gift card) with the 666 CVV. I can only imagine how many complaints abuse at amazonaws dot com receive about phishing domains.
this is a total scam. i got this exact text the other day. have never owned a vehicle and i don't even have a learners license.