Be aware of an increase in scam messages

Published on 30 Jun 2026

Fines can be issued on-the-spot by an issuing officer, attached to your vehicle, or sent by post. If you are intercepted or stopped by Victoria Police at the time of the offence, they can send the fine to the phone number or email you give them at the time.

Scammers often pretend to be from an organisation you know like Fines Victoria. Scammers can contact you by phone, SMS, email or post to try and get you to pay money or share your personal information.

We know there are scam text messages claiming to be from Fines Victoria about unpaid fines. We do not send text messages from an international phone number, on WhatsApp or as part of a group chat.

If you have an active payment arrangement, Fines Victoria will contact you by SMS to let you know you have received a new fine and ask if you want to add it to your payment arrangement.

Fines Victoria will not contact you by SMS to tell you a fine has been withdrawn, we will send you a letter by post. We may send you an SMS, asking you to contact us if we owe you a refund.

We may also call, SMS, or email you let you know you have outstanding fines. Messages from us include different information like the obligation number, the name of the agency that issued the fine, the date of the offence, or the vehicle registration.

Our Contact us page has a list of phone numbers and email addresses we might contact you from.

When we contact you by SMS, the sender ID will show as FinesVIC. Our sender ID has been registered with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), so you know the message really comes from us. Visit the ACMA website to learn more about getting text messages from a verified sender.

If you are unsure whether a phone call, SMS, or email received from Fines Victoria is genuine, do not respond or click on the links in the message. You should contact Fines Victoria immediately to check if it is genuine. You can find our phone number on the notice or letter you received or our website.

If you have been targeted by a scam, you can report it via the ReportCyber or ScamWatch websites.