The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority in a public message has warned that many people were receiving fake messages in its name asking for payment of non-existent fines through fraudulent website links.
The BRTA warning came amid allegations from many people having BRTA registration that they received messages from unknown numbers asking them to pay fines by clicking suspicious links.
A man said that he got a message from a number (+212619327582) on May 30 starting with ‘Bangladesh Road Transport Authority: Case Number: BD-2026-886521’.
Addressing the vehicle owner, it read ‘Your registered traffic fine remains unpaid. We have sent you a fine notice and a reminder, but you have not paid the fine or appealed to date. This is the third and final notice.’
The message also read that the final payment date was on the same day the message was sent.
The message then mentioned three steps: step one read, ‘200 per cent of the original fine amount will be added as delay fees which will be enforced in accordance with the Traffic Fines Regulations and will be processed automatically by the BRTA system’.
Step two read, ‘the case will be handed over to the court (enforcement officer) for collection. Under the Enforcement Act, your salary, bank deposits and property may be seized. The seizure fee will be charged separately’,
The last, step three read, ‘after completing foreclosure the client’s credit record will be submitted to the national credit information database, which will affect the client’s vehicle purchases and loan applications for the next few years’.
It further read, ‘please fully understand the legal risks mentioned above. For any complaints, you can submit a complaint or make a payment through our official website, or contact our customer service’.
The web address given in the message is https://billpass-csaea.sbs, asking the client to open and go through the process.
In response to the complaints from its service receivers, the BRTA recently published the warning notice on newspapers that reads: information has been received that some unscrupulous individuals or gangs are sending such messages to mobile phones from different mobile numbers as ‘Speeding fine is pending, pay it quickly’ or ‘You have pending fine’. The messages contain site links bspbrtn-gov.cc, or bspbrtn-gov.cc, or bsp.brtagov.top, or bsp.brta.vu/bd, or bsp.brtas.vu/bd, or bspbrtai-gov.cc, or bsapqzc.lat, or bsp.brtas.cfd, or others, which is created after the style of BRTA Service Portal (BSP), but these fake websites or portals have no connection with BSP's official website bsp.brta.gov.bd or BRTA.
The warning also urged people not to click on links received in such SMSs, be careful not to provide any personal information or make financial transactions, and inform law enforcement agencies of such fake messages.
