Text messages have been circulating in BC recently, telling recipients they must attend court for a traffic ticket. The texts tell you to click a link or reply. They’re a phishing scam, so do not click or provide information, just delete them. The Provincial Court does not send ticket or hearing notices by text message. 

Scammers may impersonate official institutions to exploit people’s fears. As shown in this example, they may include details that lend credibility. 

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All those details are fabricated, including the threatened penalties. 

What you can do

To check whether you have an active traffic ticket, you can call ICBC:

• Greater Victoria: 250-978-8300
• Lower Mainland: 604-982-2250
• Toll-free: 1-800-950-1498

You can also contact BC Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 to report these or other scam messages.

Protect yourself from scams and fraud

If you receive any emails or texts claiming to be from a government agency, court or police, before clicking any links look closely at the sender’s phone number or email address and any web addresses in the message to see if they look fishy. Real BC government websites end with “.bc.ca”. For example, the scam text shown above tries to take the intended victim to “bc-court-pay01.xyz/ca”, but the real PayBC site’s address is https://pay.gov.bc.ca.

If you are ever unsure whether a text or email is really from a government agency, look up that agency’s official phone number and/or email address and contact them directly to confirm. Do not attempt to verify information by responding directly to a suspicious text or email. 

Learning about common types of scams and fraud can help you protect yourself. Find more information about these threats and how you can protect yourself from these resources:

Cyber Threats (BC Government)

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (Canadian Government)

Photo: Markus Winkler