A leading cybersecurity expert is concerned a new scheme by ACT Policing to email speeding tickets is "ripe for scammers".
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Centre for Internet Safety director Nigel Phair said scammers could impersonate official ACT police emails, fooling Canberrans into paying fake tickets.
"I applaud them using technology. The problem is [they] said it will come from a real [Australian Federal Police] address. The average person out there doesn't know what a real AFP address is," Mr Phair said.
"It is ripe for scammers. Their [communication] hasn't been sufficient just by saying it'll come from an AFP email address."
An ACT police spokeswoman said it had engaged in a media campaign including TV coverage on Monday, a radio interview and posts on Facebook and Twitter.
More information is also available on the ACT Policing and Access Canberra websites.
Mr Phair said one of the most popular email scams in Australia was the fake speeding ticket, along with the fake tax return or fake Australia Post "you've got a parcel" email.
He said it would be "a lot smarter" and secure to issue the tickets via MyGov.
Speeding tickets would only be emailed if recipients choose the option but Mr Phair said experts had spent years warning Australians about email "phishing" scams.
Mr Phair explained a phishing scam was the use of an email impersonating a trusted brand to make you click a link or send personal details, with one of the biggest phishing scams being a fake speeding ticket.
"It started off with the banks, it went through your eBays and your PayPals, and now it's just any world recognised trusted brand," he said.
The ACT Policing spokeswoman said emailing speeding tickets was part of their efforts to modernise the ACT police and give officers "access to the best tools to do their job".
"The AFP's Technical Security Team was involved in a review of the process and provided their expert advice to ACT Policing," the spokeswoman said.
Queensland police began trialling emailed "e-tickets" in 2016 with recipients only issued tickets via email if they chose to do so.
According to Scamwatch, Australians lost over $7 million to scams in 2017, with Canberrans losing over $1 million. Email was the second-most popular method used to deliver scams.
