The key facts

  • Fraudsters send out fictitious traffic violation rulings with links for payment in favor of criminals
  • Genuine fines are displayed on Gosuslugi and the official GIBDD website
  • In a genuine payment notice, the recipient is listed as the Federal Treasury Department, and the UIN contains 20 or 25 digits

The Interior Ministry named the signs of fake traffic fines

Russia's Interior Ministry has revealed a scheme used to deceive drivers: fraudsters send out fictitious traffic violation rulings that outwardly imitate official payment notices, but contain payment details for transferring money to the criminals. This was reported, citing materials from the ministry, by TASS, and it was also covered by Gazeta.Ru and Life.ru.

How to verify the authenticity of a ruling

The first reason for doubt is the delivery channel. If a 'ruling' arrives via a messenger app or email, you should not pay it through the attached link: genuine fines are displayed on Gosuslugi and the official traffic police (GIBDD) website. The second sign is the payment details: in a genuine payment notice, the money goes to the Federal Treasury Department, whereas in a fake document the recipient may be listed as an electronic payment system. The third way to verify is the unique accrual identifier (UIN), which consists of 20 or 25 digits and makes it possible to check the debt against official databases.

Context of other Interior Ministry warnings

Earlier, the Interior Ministry also warned about other traps: fake Wi-Fi networks masquerading as official access points of establishments, fake QR codes in public places that redirect to phishing sites and fake payment pages, as well as gadgets left in public places. According to the ministry, an ordinary trip on public transport, a visit to a café, or connecting to free internet can result in the theft of personal data.