Overview
- Minnesota court officials alerted the public to phony traffic and parking citations that direct recipients to pay via QR code or appear in court.
- The texts first reported in Hennepin County use fabricated case numbers and a nonexistent judge’s name alongside the real Hennepin County Government Center address.
- Officials advise people not to click links or scan QR codes, not to share financial or personal information, and to verify citations by calling the court at 612-348-6000.
- San Francisco and Santa Cruz County prosecutors issued a joint alert describing similar emails and texts labeled “Toll Violation” or “Traffic Violation” that offer to avoid a purported hearing by paying through a link or QR code.
- Authorities urge reporting suspicious messages to law enforcement, filing complaints with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center if victimized, and in San Francisco contacting the DA’s Consumer Protection Unit at 628-652-4311 and changing passwords if links were used.