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[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [CRIME]

3 clusters · 8 sources · 33 days · First seen · Last updated

Fake traffic‑fine SMS scams

Overview

The wave of fraudulent traffic‑fine SMS scams continued through July and August 2026. In Ghana, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) issued a second public alert on 5 July, reiterating that it never offers discounts and that legitimate payments must be made only through the official government portal (ghana.gov.gh) or the DVLA website (dvla.gov.gh). Motorists were urged to verify any request via these channels, avoid unknown links, and report suspicious texts to the nearest DVLA office or law‑enforcement agency.

Swedish authorities maintained their warnings. On 24 July, the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) reminded the public that no demand letters or payment requests for traffic fines are sent by SMS or email, citing a case in Vimmerby where a woman in her 70s ignored a fake discount offer and filed a police report. The agency advised citizens to ignore such messages, refrain from providing personal or Bank‑ID details, and report them.

A further alert on 6 August from the Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) detailed additional reports from municipalities including Vimmerby, Hultsfred and Västervik, where scammers demanded up to 3,000 SEK via SMS. Police confirmed the scams remain ongoing and urged the public to treat any SMS or email request for payment or personal data as fraudulent.

Entities

Hultsfred · Västervik · Transportstyrelsen · Vimmerby · Jonas Halling

Timeline

  1. 6 days ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources
    Swedish Transport Agency warns of fake traffic fine SMS scams

    Sweden’s Transport Agency alerts the public to fake SMS traffic‑fine scams, citing recent reports from several municipalities and urging that it never requests payments via text.

  2. 19 days ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources
    Swedish authorities warn of fake traffic‑fine SMS scams

    Swedish transport agencies warn the public not to click links or pay fees in fake SMS claiming traffic‑fine discounts, after reports including a Vimmerby woman who reported a Transportstyrelsen‑impersonation sc

  3. about 1 month ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources
    Ghana DVLA warns motorists of fraudulent fine‑payment SMS scams

    Ghana’s DVLA alerts motorists that fake SMS messages offering discounted fines link to fraudulent sites; only official payments go through gov.gh and dvla.gov.gh; users should ignore and report such texts.

Sources

awreferencement.com · bs-media.de · frihetsnytt.se · ghanaguardian.com · myjoyonline.com · nachhaltigkeitswoche.ch · theghanareport.com · vimmerbytidning.se