Niagara County Clerk Joseph A. Jastrzemski is warning local residents of a scam involving a fake traffic summons. Drivers are being sent the fake toll violation summons along with a QR code to send payment to the fraudsters.
Jastrzemski said he was alerted to the scam by county clerks in other regions of the state.
The summons appears to come from New York State Supreme Court and is a notice for a toll violation hearing. Drivers are given the option to appear in court for the hearing or pay the fine.
“This summons looks very real and people in other parts of the state have already been duped,” he said. “Let me be clear that we do not have any reports of this particular scam happening in Niagara County yet, although it is very similar to an E-Z pass scam we warned about last year that still continues.”
In the E-ZPass scam, a text message is sent attempting to collect tolls on behalf of “NY Toll Services” or “E-ZPass Toll Services. People receiving the text are directed to click a link to pay an outstanding toll balance to avoid a late fee. The toll account information provided in these texts is neither valid nor accurate.
“All of these scams operate under the premise that people will panic when they see some sort of official notice or violation and want to pay it right away,” said Jastrzemski. “It’s important to look the document over carefully, and call the government agency if you have any questions. Remember, legitimate government agencies will never ask for your date of birth, social security number or other personally identifiable information in an unsolicited communication.”