Caught-on-Camera New England Speeding Ticket Scam is Too Close to Home

What makes this so scary and easy to fall for is how accurate it is, hitting super close to home.

I received an email that said the following:

You’ve been detected with a speed infringement:

Reason: Negligent driving in Greenwich, CT

Case No: 1139471

Amount due: 655.78 

This fine will be sent by mail to your address. However you can screen it now, please click here  Photo Proof - 4563456

I removed the link to the 'Photo Proof—4563456' wording above so no one would be tempted to click on it. In the emails these scammers send, the link is highlighted blue, like all links, but if you're not careful, you'll click on something that connects to something very nefarious.

Now, here's what made me stop and think for a few seconds before I realized this was a scam. It could happen to you, too, because the location is most likely where you live or somehow connected to you. Maybe you've never been there, but your company is headquartered there.

I drive in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the surrounding area enough for this to be totally legit. I also have a Connecticut phone number. So when I received this email, I immediately started replaying in my mind if I had sped up at a yellow light, hoping to sneak through before it turned red. Or was I speeding beyond that comfortable five to 10 miles per hour recently? I honestly couldn't recall.

However, after about 30 seconds of mulling it over and working my way through the entire thought process, my training in scam emails kicked in.

First of all, why would it come to my work email? Next, why would I even be receiving an email? Finally, if this was legit, then why is it coming from a very generic-sounding email address, 'penalties@speedcamerafines.com,' rather than the Greenwich Police Department?

This is when I decided to Google the email address and see what popped up. Sure enough, that search confirmed that this is indeed a scam dating back to 2017.

So please beware because clearly, this scam is still alive and well.