Fact File: Text messages about unpaid speed camera tickets are scams, police say
Written by The Canadian Press on October 14, 2025
As debate around speed cameras in Ontario heated up this summer, residents may have received suspicious text messages saying they had been caught speeding by the cameras and needed to pay a fine.
The text messages claimed to be from “Service Ontario” and threatened to suspend the receiver’s driver’s licence if a payment wasn’t made.
However, police confirm the texts are fake and part of a phishing scam designed to steal sensitive information from anyone who might be tricked into thinking they’re real.
THE CLAIM
“Our system speed camera shows your radar ticket still hasn’t been paid,” reads a screenshot of a text message posted last week on X, formerly Twitter.
The message, which claims to be from “Service Ontario,” urges the recipient to pay to “avoid any loss of demerit points” and threatens to report the receiver’s driver’s licence to the “DMV violation database.” It also says the recipient may face prosecution and must “pay immediately” at an included hyperlink.
Reports on social media of similar messages were seen throughout the summer and into the fall.
THE FACTS
While drivers can pay certain fines through ServiceOntario, the provincial government agency does not issue tickets.
“ServiceOntario will never demand payment through email, text message, or phone call; claim that there is an issue requiring you to call or click a link; request sensitive information such as credit card details, date of birth, or banking information; or threaten to report fees or fines to law enforcement or collection agencies,” said Praveen Senthinathan, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, which oversees ServiceOntario.
There are many variations of the fake message, but there are usually signs that they are not authentic, such as being sent from a foreign phone number and including spelling mistakes.
In addition, automated speed enforcement tickets are sent by mail and don’t add demerit points to licences.
“DMV” is an abbreviation for the department of motor vehicles, a term not typically used in Canada.
The provincial law regulating speed camera tickets is Ontario Regulation 355/22, not the “Ontario Administrative Code 15C-16.003” that appears in some of the messages and which does not exist.
On Friday, Ontario Provincial Police from Quinte West sent out a news release saying a speeding-ticket phishing scam resulted in someone losing $120. In that case, the victim reported following a link to a website resembling the one for ServiceOntario.
Phishing, sometimes called “smishing” when the scam involves text or SMS messages, is a type of scam in which the victim is lured into clicking a link that might contain malware or lead them to giving up private information. Cybercriminals can then use that information to steal the victim’s money or identity.
The RCMP’s Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in an email Friday said it received 93 reports of this scam between July and September, and none so far in October.
However, the centre estimates only five to 10 per cent of frauds are reported.
‘Constantly evolving’ scam
“The scam text messages are constantly evolving and changing on a daily basis,” David Coffey, a detective with the Toronto Police Service’s financial crimes unit, wrote in an email.
He said Toronto police see 45 to 50 reports of fraud every day, and they commonly see text scammers claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, Amazon, the 407 Ontario toll highway and employers hiring for bogus jobs.
“(Artificial Intelligence) is escalating this issue dramatically and will only continue to do so,” he said.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says $544 million had been reported lost to fraud this year as of Sept. 30, 2025.
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and the federal government is urging Canadians to be more aware of the various ways cybercriminals attempt to trick people.
Don’t open links or attachments in unexpected text messages, the government’s campaign says, and contact the legitimate source directly through the email address or phone number found on its official website.
It says phishing text messages should be forwarded to the number 7726 (SPAM), which will alert the cellular provider to open an investigation into the message. The message can also be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre either online or by phone at 1-888-495-8501.
People who have lost money to one of these scams should report it to their local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2025.
Colleen Hale-Hodgson, The Canadian Press