The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is warning the public against fraudulent schemes using the agency’s name to steal bank and e-wallet information, reminding that it is not sending notices of traffic violations through text or any messaging app. LTO Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the scam messages include a link that redirects users to a bogus LTO site, which then requires users to input their license plates and other details. The information, he noted, is eventually used to gain access to personal funds. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) said it is not sending notices of traffic violations through text or any messaging app.
In an advisory Friday, the LTO warned the public against fraudulent schemes using the agency’s name to steal bank and e-wallet information from unwitting individuals.
LTO Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the scam messages include a link that redirects users to a bogus LTO site, which then requires users to input their license plates and other details. The information, he noted, is eventually used to gain access to personal funds.
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“We are continuously receiving reports of these scams and that’s why we are advising all our clients to ignore these messages in order to protect yourselves from online scammers,” he said.
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“Once again, we would like to remind the public that the LTO does not send any traffic violations through text messages or any messaging app. If you receive one, that means it came from scammers,” he added.
The LTO chief said they are now cooperating with the Philippine National Police and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to catch the perpetrators of the online scheme.
Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista has ordered all LTO Regional Directors and District Office heads to utilize their social media accounts to notify citizens about this scam, according to Mendoza. — Moss R. Laygo, trainee