Dufferin Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is warning residents about a text message scam circulating in the area that falsely claims recipients have incurred a speed camera fine.

In an incident reported to the Dufferin OPP, a victim received a text message stating that a speed camera fine had been issued, along with a link appearing to direct the individual to a secure Service Ontario payment page. Believing the message to be legitimate, the victim paid what appeared to be a $12 fine.

By submitting the payment, the victim unknowingly provided scammers with access to their credit card information. Fraudsters then attempted to withdraw $750 from the card. Fortunately, the suspicious transaction was detected by the credit card company, the card was cancelled, and no further losses occurred.

The victim later received a second, similar text message. A screenshot of this message has been shared with the police to help raise public awareness.

The OPP would like to remind residents of the following important facts:

• The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) does not send notifications of fines by text message.

• The MTO does not collect or use personal phone numbers for enforcement or fine notifications.

• Legitimate provincial offence notices, including speed camera fines, are delivered by mail only.

• Do not click on links in unsolicited text messages-even if they appear to be from official agencies or government services.

• If you receive a suspicious message, delete it immediately and do not provide any personal or financial information.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of fraud is encouraged to contact police and report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.

If you wish to report a similar incident or have information related to this scam, please contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122, or Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).