There’s another scam to watch out for, West Nipissing residents.
This one is about parking tickets. The municipality issued a release earlier today, warning residents of the new scam. Police have been notified.
The town detailed what was known about the scam.
Here’s how it goes. You receive a text message from the scammer, claiming to be about outstanding parking infractions. There is a link included within the text, which can lead to trouble if you click on that.
The text was sent to the town from a resident. It read “Ontario Parking Resolution is necessary for your outstanding parking ticket.” The text then mentions date the ticket was issued, and a due date to pay “in order to avoid licence suspension.”
The link posted within the scam text is for Ontario Infraction Hub, which is part of the fraud.
Similar texts were floating about Collingwood this summer, and Toronto had parking scam texts circulating in the winter of 2023.
West Nipissing’s release noted, “If you receive this message, please delete it and do not click on any links.” Further, “The Municipality of West Nipissing does not send text messages about payments or owing balances.”
If you are in doubt, contact the municipality directly to confirm if an amount is owed from a ticket or another bill. Reach the office by email at [email protected] or by phone at 705-753-2250.
However, it is best to delete and ignore any text message that claims to come from the municipality regarding tickets.
See: Beware of craft show vendor scam, West Nipissing
This is the second warning the municipality has issued in just a few days. On Jan. 29, the town warned of a scam where a woman was trying to sell vendor space at a non-existent craft show.
Be vigilant, West Nipissing, the scammers want to put you in the crosshairs.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.