Police Warn Of Fake Red-Light Camera Ticket Scams In South Florida

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Police departments across South Florida want you to know about fake red-light camera tickets that could pop up in your mailbox.

Yuri Vazquez of Lauderhill says he received a letter in the mail thinking he was going to have to cough up some cash after being caught on a red-light camera.

"They were asking for $178," says Vazquez.

But the closer he looked, things weren't right, including misspellings, an incorrect police logo and out-of-state addresses.

"The address to send the payment was in Seattle, Washington, a P.O. Box," says Vazquez.

Vazquez reported this to Lauderhill PD.

They are joining other law enforcement agencies in Broward and Miami-Dade to warn folks about this scam.

It's almost believable as some of the fake notices have photos of the person's actual license plate – similar to a snapshot from a real red-light camera.

"It's usually the back of the vehicle, the tag and they'll put it in there a black and white photo, it's not very clear on these forms," says Lauderhill Police Department Maj. Mike Santiago.

Lauderhill PD tells CBS News Miami they are investigating four similar incidents of these fake tickets.

Police say the danger to the public is not only the loss of money.

"You also have the loss of your identity so now people have your id, your name, home address, credit card number, so this thing has a domino effect," says Santiago.

To prevent falling for this scam, make sure that the address of the violation is in the judication of the agency issuing the violation and check dates as well.

If something doesn't look right, call police.