HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Intelligence Center (PACIC) warns of a fraudulent e-mail claiming to originate from PennDOT.
The subject line of the email indicates “Action Required- Fine for Traffic Violations”. The narrative of the email states that “a vehicle registered to you was captured running a red light” along with a violation date, ticket number and a specified fine amount. There were also various links to click on to view photos, pay the fine or for more information regarding the email security service. Those links redirect the user to websites not affiliated with PennDot or the Commonwealth of PA.
In one example of the email there are signs that indicate that this is a phishing scam, including: poor spelling or grammatical errors within the message. This message not only has “violation” spelled incorrectly, but also lists two different violation dates. Additionally, citations or traffic tickets issued in Pennsylvania are not paid directly to PennDot. Those citations or tickets are generated by specific municipalities or state law enforcement agencies.
Phishing is the process of deceiving recipients into sharing sensitive information with an unknown third party, or cyber attacker, typically through email; however, websites and internet pop-up are also used.
When using e-mail, it is difficult to known exactly with whom you are communicating. Scammers utilize this uncertainty to pose as legitimate businesses, organizations, or individuals to gain the trust of users and compromise their personal, financial and/or other sensitive information. Scammers appear to represent legitimate businesses or organizations by spoofing email addresses, creating fake websites with legitimate logos and providing phone numbers to illegitimate customer service centers or tech support centers operated by attackers.
Recommendations
The Governor’s Office of Administration recommends the following:
– Do not reply to these types of messages and delete the message if and when received.
– Some messages may ask for personal information such as your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number (SSN) , passwords, etc. You should never reply to inquiries asking for privileged/proprietary information.
– Don’t open or click on anything from an unknown source. If it is familiar but unexpected/questionable, contact that person to verify that they sent the email.
– If it looks suspicious or if there is a doubt about the legitimacy in any way, delete the message and do not reply.
Remember the following security tips when dealing with content and links in suspicious emails:
Never open a link or attachment when the sender is not known.
Never click on an email link that only has an IP address.
Never run a program or allow a plug-in when the source is unknown or not trusted.