Ballina police have issued a warning for people to be wary of a new scam that involves emails demanding instant payment for fines.
Just this week, Ballina police have taken five reports from people who have received emails purported to be police infringement notices.
The emails are being sent from a South African website (.ZA), they do not have the receivers name on it, the grammar and punctuation are poor and the alleged fines are in unusual amounts like $996.02.
Police said anyone clicking on the link in the emails run the risk of having their computer infected by malicious software such as spyware or ransomware.
Anyone receiving a suspect email should block the sender and delete the email itself.
And while NSW Police do issue fines via email, ‘this is only done if the receiver consents to receiving the fine via email.
A valid fine from police would include numerous identifiers such as the time, date and actual offence.
Anyone who may have been subjected to a cybercrime should inform the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network, or contact police.
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