Police warn of speed camera text message scam circling around

Young man using mobile phone. Using online connect technology for business, education and communication.

Dufferin Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are alerting the public to a speed camera text messaging scam in the area.

The scam goes like this: a person receives a text that says a speed camera fine has been issued with a link below, and when clicked on, it looks like a secure Service Ontario payment page to fill in payment information for a $12 fine. When the person enters the payment information, banking details have now been given to the scammer, which then results in money possibly being stolen.

In an incident reported to police, the fraudster allegedly tried to take $750 but the transaction was stopped by the credit card company, the card was cancelled, and the person didn’t end up losing any money.

Police say that same resident received another text message looking similar to the first and shared it with police to help bring public awareness to the scam.

OPP are reminding the public that the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario does not send fines by text but rather by mail only and it does not collect or use personal phone numbers for fines.

Police are also reminding the community to not click on links in unsolicited text messages even if they look to be from official services but instead, delete any suspicious messages and not give out any personal or banking information.

Police advise anyone who thinks they have been a victim of fraud, to report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

The province has discontinued the speed camera program and fines are no longer being given out as of Nov. 14, 2025. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says to watch out for any spelling, grammar, or formatting errors, as apparent in the screenshot of the text message.