Scams, identity theft and cybercrimes threaten everyone.
Every year people lose billions of dollars to scams, identity theft and cybercrime. No one is immune to these dangers. Young and old alike are victims and if you think you are too smart to become a victim, you are wrong. According to the National Association of Securities Dealers wealthy, financially literate and astute people are actually more likely to become victims of financial scams.
The key to protecting yourself from scams cybercrime and identity theft is education and that is where Scamicide.com comes in. Here at Scamicide.com you will learn how to recognize scams, cyber security threats and risks of identity theft as well as how to avoid them. Here at Scamicide.com we also alert you each and every day to the latest developments in scams, cyber security and identity theft and tell you what you need to do to protect yourself. It is a dangerous world out there, but Scamicide.com can help you make it safer.
Scam of the day – March 21, 2026 – Nationwide Fake Traffic Violation Scam: How Imposter Scammers Use Phony Notices to Steal Your Money
Imposter scams have long been among the most lucrative for scammers. While there are many variations of this scam, the most common variations have involved scammers contacting their victims posing as a popular company with which we all do business or a government agency. The scammer then, under a wide variety of pretenses, demands an immediate payment by cryptocurrencies, gift cards, credit card or wired funds. Being asked to pay by gift cards or cryptocurrencies is a definite indication that the call is a scam since no company or government agency requests or accepts payments by gift cards or cryptocurrencies.
Reproduced below is a phony traffic violation notice being sent by emails and text messages that attempts to lure the targeted victim into making a payment to avoid severe penalties. The format of the notice appears legitimate and the exact same format is also being used in Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey and New Hampshire with just minor adaptations for local statute references and court addresses. Of course, anyone scanning the QR code will be prompted to make a payment for the phony violation. Unfortunately, it is very simple for even a technologically unsophisticated criminal to create legitimate appearing notices.
TIPS
As I have often reminded you, whenever you are contacted by phone call, email or a text message you can never be sure who is actually contacting you. B.S. Be skeptical. Even if your phone indicates that the text message is coming from the local court, it is a simple matter for a scammer to manipulate your Caller ID to make the message appear legitimate and hide the true source of the text message.
Never click on a link, download an attachment, scan a QR code, provide personal information or make a payment in response to an email, text message or phone call unless you have absolutely confirmed that the communication is legitimate. A quick call to the actual court using a number you can get online rather than a phone number contained in the notice will confirm that the notice you received is bogus.
In regard to this particular scam, it is interesting to note that the lazy scammers use the same name for the clerk of court and judge in the form. It should also be noted that no court will send you a notice with a QR code to use to make a payment.
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