The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Friday warned motorists of a new online phishing scam targeting them with fake traffic violation notifications.
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II urged the public to be wary of such scams and not to respond to text messages claiming to be from the LTO.
“The LTO does not send traffic violation notices through text messages,” Mendoza said. “This system has been discontinued for a long time, so any message you receive is definitely from scammers.”
The agency is currently working with other government agencies, including the Philippine National Police (PNP), to track down the scammers and protect the public. LTO is also collaborating with its online payment partners to strengthen security measures.
“We advise the public to ignore these messages and report them immediately to the authorities,” Mendoza added. “The LTO is actively working with our partners to stop these individuals and protect the public.”
The phishing scam involves text messages impersonating the LTO and claiming that the recipient has outstanding traffic violations.
The messages often contain a link to a fake LTO website. If a victim enters their personal information on the website, it can be stolen by the scammers.
Mendoza advised the public to contact their nearest LTO office directly if they receive such messages.