A new scam involving threats of jail time and licence suspension over unpaid parking tickets has been circulating in eastern Ontario, warns the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). Police say they have been receiving complaints from residents reporting receiving emails and messages about alleged unpaid parking tickets. The residents were also threatened for arrest and licence suspension if they don’t pay those tickets “through a fraudulent payment system.” The OPP says that its service would not threaten to arrest anyone or seize their licence over an unpaid parking ticket, noting that it only accepts payments through its official website. “People should not click links or call numbers that are included in unsolicited emails or texts. No municipality or police service will threaten to arrest and jail someone for a ticket,” the OPP told CTV News Ottawa in a statement Thursday. Anyone who receives an email or message, asking to pay for a ticket, is asked to make sure it’s not a scam by visiting the OPP’s official website, looking up the number and calling the service asking for the payment.
