Fines SA is warning motorists about a surge in fraudulent traffic fine SMSes. The notices claim motorists have outstanding fines that must be paid immediately. These messages often include links to fake payment pages designed to mimic legitimate municipal or traffic fine platforms.
“We’ve seen a noticeable spike in motorists contacting us to check whether SMSes they’ve received are legitimate,” said Barry Berman, CEO of Fines SA. “The messages look convincing, but they are designed to create urgency and panic. Once someone clicks a link and pays on an unsafe site, the money is gone, and no fine has been settled.” In these scams, motorists typically receive an SMS or WhatsApp message warning of an outstanding fine or imminent penalties.
The link provided leads to a cloned website that closely resembles an official payment platform. A key red flag is that these links do not direct users to www.finessa.co.za, which is Fines SA’s only official website. The safest approach is to stop and independently verify.
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Rather than reacting to a message, motorists should check their fine status directly through a secure, verified platform. If the link doesn’t come from our official website or app, it’s not legitimate Payments made on these fake sites are diverted to criminals, leaving motorists financially exposed and still liable for any legitimate fines. Fines SA advises motorists to treat any unsolicited fine-related message with caution and to avoid clicking on links or making payments based on SMS notifications.
“The safest approach is to stop and independently verify,” said Berman. If the link doesn’t come from our official website or app, it’s not legitimate.” The Fines SA platform consolidates verified fine data from more than 250 municipalities, representing more than 90% of traffic fine issuing authorities in South Africa. It does not send traffic fine notifications via SMS.
“With scam tactics becoming more sophisticated, verification is critical,” Berman said. Motorists can verify fines by visiting www.finessa.co.za or downloading the Fines SA app on iOS, Android and Huawei.
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