“Beware: Fraudsters sending fake traffic fine alerts by SMS.”

Fines SA has warned motorists about a rise in fraudulent SMS messages claiming recipients have unpaid traffic fines.

The scam messages urge immediate payment and often include links to fake websites designed to resemble official municipal or traffic fine platforms.

Barry Berman, CEO of Fines SA, said there has been a surge in motorists contacting the organisation to verify whether such messages are legitimate.

“These SMSs are made to look authentic and are intended to create urgency and panic,” Berman said. “Once a motorist clicks the link and makes a payment on an unsafe site, the money is lost and no fine is actually paid.”

In these scams, motorists typically receive an SMS or WhatsApp message warning of an outstanding fine or imminent penalties. The link provided leads to a cloned website that closely resembles an official payment platform. A key red flag is that these links do not direct users to www.finessa.co.za, which is Fines SA’s only official website.

Fines SA is urging motorists to exercise caution and independently verify any fine-related messages before taking action. Payments should only be made through secure, verified platforms. Links that do not come from Fines SA’s official website or app should be treated as fraudulent.

“Payments made on these fake sites are diverted to criminals, leaving motorists financially exposed while still liable for any legitimate fines,” said Barry Berman, CEO of Fines SA.

“The safest approach is to stop and independently verify,” Berman added. “Rather than reacting to a message, motorists should check their fine status directly through a secure, verified platform. If the link doesn’t come from our official website or app, it’s not legitimate.”

The Fines SA platform consolidates verified fine data from more than 250 municipalities, representing more than 90% of traffic fine issuing authorities in South Africa. It does not send traffic fine notifications via SMS.

“With scam tactics becoming more sophisticated, verification is critical,” Berman said.