The Land Transportation Office (LTO) warned the public against online scammers who have been impersonating the agency for illegal money-making scheme.
LTO chief, Assistant Secretary Vigor D. Mendoza II said was referring to the proliferation of the phishing scam perpetrated by online scammers by impersonating the LTO through text messages claiming that the target victims have traffic violations.
The modus was reported by Manila Bulletin Technology editor Art Samaniego who stated in his report that the phishing scam targets BDO, RCBC, and Maya users by impersonating the LTO via sending of text messages falsely claiming they have incurred a traffic violation, including a link to a fake LTO website.
“The fraudulent website requests users to input their vehicle plate number and subsequently offers payment options linked to these banks. Selecting a payment option redirects users to a counterfeit banking login page designed to steal their credentials,” Samaniego said in his report.
Mendoza emphasized that the LTO does not send violation reports to motorists through text messages.
He said the LTO has already started coordinating with its online payment partners in order to strengthen the alliance in protecting the agency’s clients.
“We advise the public, especially the motorists, to ignore these messages, or better yet, report it to the LTO and other law enforcement agencies for proper action,” said Mendoza.
On the part of the LTO, we are coordinating with our partners and other concerned government agencies to run after these people and protect the public,” he added.