That text message about a traffic ticket? It's fake, ICBC says

ICBC shared this image of a fraudulent text message with its social media post. (X.com/icbc)

ICBC wants you to know it will never text you to seek payment for a traffic ticket. So does the provincial government, and the City of Vancouver.

All three entities have posted public warnings on social media this week about text message phishing scams impersonating them.

ICBC shared an image of a text message claiming that the recipient's vehicle had been caught "doing 46 km/h in a 30 km/h zone" and including a link that purported to allow the recipient to settle the matter "without a court date."

"If you receive the text message about a traffic violation, please ignore or delete the message, as it is a scam," ICBC wrote in its post Tuesday. 

"We do not send text messages to customers about traffic violation tickets or payment requests."

The B.C. government chimed in with a warning of its own on Thursday, noting that the link appeared to be imitating its PayBC portal, and advising anyone who receives such a text to report it via the federal government's Get Cyber Safe program. 

"The scam comes as a text message about an outstanding speeding ticket," the province's post reads. "It is fraudulent. We don't contact people about speeding tickets via text message, nor does ICBC." 

The City of Vancouver shared a similar warning on Thursday, saying it had been notified of a text message scam claiming the recipient has an overdue parking ticket. 

The city included a link to its website, which notes that the city's only approved notification methods for parking violations involve physical tickets left on vehicles or sent in the mail. 

"We do not notify the public of fines through texting, media, or social media," the city said.

The three entities' warnings come in the same week that Surrey RCMP announced residents of that city had lost more than $15 million to cryptocurrency-related frauds over the last 14 months.