TRAFFIC authorities in Spain have warned of a spate of scam emails claiming the recipient has been caught speeding and providing a link through which they should pay a sizeable fine.
The messages appear to come from the Dirección Electrónica Vial ('Digital Traffic Directorate') or DEV and do not name the person they are sent to, but are addressed to “Señor conductor,” or 'Dear Mr Driver'.
In it, the receiver is informed he or she has to pay a fine of €1,530, and is provided with a link apparently to the DEV payment site.
Spain's General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), part of the ministry of public works, says it never sends out fine notices via email.
These are only ever sent by ordinary post, enclosing a photograph of the speeding car caught on camera and giving details of the date, time and location, as well as providing information and instructions for payment of the fine online or in person.
Normally, the driver is given a deadline to pay, before which the amount of the fine is reduced by 50%.
Notifications of fines for speeding or any other road traffic offence are only sent online via the DEV website if the driver has signed up with his or her electronic DNI, or national identity number, which is only available to Spanish nationals.
In this case, the driver would have accessed the DEV site manually rather than clicking on a link.
The DGT warns recipients to ignore any emails claiming to be speeding fine notices, and ideally, to delete them unopened.
It is very unlikely that a road traffic offence fine would be as high as €1,530 in any case, unless it involved a court hearing.
Anyone who has already been caught out should immediately report the matter to the police.
