Drivers targeted by phony traffic ticket con

A new scam is out there focusing on drivers worldwide. Recipients obtain an ominous email. The message claims they owe for an old speeding ticket in New York State. The email includes a zip file that, when opened, releases a Trojan Horse malware. And there is at least one other fake traffic ticket scam to avoid. I read this here: New scams use fake traffic tickets Identity thievery A return address @nyc.gov will be seen on the e-mail with “UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET” in the topic. Individuals are asked to print out the attachment and send it to the New York-sounding Chatham Hall. A Trojan Horse virus begins after the file is opened that can steal information and identities. A ton of spam There are a ton of red light cameras that have been installed. That is why it is not very suspicious getting a ticket in the mail. Unless someone has been in New York State recently, they will realize it is a con or mistake very easily. As reported by senior threat researcher for SophosLabs U.S. Beth Jones: “It wasn’t very sophisticated as they spammed it worldwide, rather than narrowing the focus to the U.S. or even to New York. It easily could’ve been some kid in his room who wanted to see if he could make some ‘easy money’ from hard-working folks.” Comments on SophosLabs’ Facebook page show that several individuals outside the U.S. are rejecting the email messages at a glance. According to Marike van Breugel: “I got 4 of these today. Considering I live in Thailand it seems absurd. Can’t the spammers sort by country even?” Not a new con According to Jones, the con is unique in its subject matter. In the past, people haven’t used tickets to get attachments open. This is the first time it has been seen. Another con detected A more targeted scam happened last week, according to Long Island, N.Y.’s Cablevision News 12. The email messages are being sent to residents in Suffolk County with tickets. They say that the residents were caught running red lights on camera. If the citation isn’t paid, the email will put points against the driver’s license. All citations in Suffolk County are done through traditional mail, authorities report. The country’s website will end up posting all red-light photos also.

Articles cited

AOL Autos ScamTrends News 12