Drivers across various regions of Chile are facing a new type of digital fraud that uses fake traffic fines to steal personal information. Criminals are exploiting the fear of traffic penalties to deceive victims using QR codes.
The scam involves placing notices on vehicle windshields. These papers are designed to look like official notifications for parking violations or other traffic offenses.
The deception is triggered when a driver scans the QR code printed on the notice. The link redirects them to fraudulent websites that mimic official government portals, aiming to capture banking details or install malware on mobile devices.
How to avoid the scam
Security specialists warn that this tactic is designed to exploit driver urgency. Upon finding a violation notice, a person's immediate reaction is often to check the fine without verifying its legitimacy.
Traffic authorities have clarified that fines are only officially notified through authorized institutional channels and platforms. Any paper physically attached to a vehicle should be treated as a red flag.
If you encounter a suspicious notice, experts recommend not scanning the code or entering any information on unknown sites. The best course of action is to remove the paper and take a photo of the notice as evidence to file a report.
This method is part of a growing wave of digital fraud in the country, including social media identity theft and the cloning of banking websites. The general recommendation is to always verify the URL of payment sites and keep mobile device operating systems up to date.
