The City of Stratford, Ontario, issued an urgent alert on March 26, 2026, about a new scam targeting local drivers through text messages. These fraudulent messages claim that the recipient has an unpaid parking ticket and must pay immediately to avoid penalties.
Local officials made it clear that the city never sends out notifications about parking fines through mobile text messages. Residents are reminded that legitimate parking tickets cannot be paid for using a link sent in a text.
This type of scam is known as smishing, which happens when fraudsters pretend to be a government office to steal private information or money. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has reported an increase in these fake parking ticket claims across the country.
Similar fraudulent messages have been reported in other communities like the City of Kingston and Calgary. These texts often use high-pressure tactics, threatening to suspend driver’s licences or impound vehicles if the person does not click the link.
Residents who receive one of these texts should not click on any links or provide any credit card details. Anyone who sees a suspicious message should ignore it and report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
