A SPATE of fake parking tickets emailed to residents has Frankston Council warning people not to pay scammers.
Fraudulent parking infringement notices have been sent by email to several people over the past few weeks.
The mayor Cr Colin Hampton said council only issues parking tickets in the mail, as a printed ticket on a vehicle’s windscreen or in person by a parking officer on patrol.
“Council doesn’t issue infringements via email. Anyone who receives an email which claims to be an infringement from Frankston City Council should treat this very seriously,” Cr Hampton said.
The mayor said recipients should not even open any emails purporting to come from council about parking fines.
“We also urge anyone who receives a scam email to not click on any link within the email, as it may contain a virus or allow personal devices to be hacked.”
Council has alerted Victoria Police, Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) about the parking tickets scam.
There is no suggestion Frankston residents’ personal details have been obtained by scammers.
Fraudsters can use programs to find email addresses published online on websites.
The mayor said legitimate parking fines will be processed as usual and should be paid by the contested or due date to avoid additional fines.
Anyone who has been a victim of the parking fines email scam should report it to Consumer Affairs Victoria at scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam online or by calling 1300 55 81 81.
