In just a few weeks, Yvette Heikka Mukka, 70, has received three fake parking fines from the “Transportstyrelsen”.
It is the most extensive wave of fraud the authority has ever seen.
– I wrote “damn skulls, what do you think?”, she says.
The frauds where parking fines are currently sent out under a false name from the “Transport Board” have increased to record levels since July.
70-year-old Yvette Heikka Mukka is one of those who have been affected – the third time just a few days ago.
– For the first few seconds, you’re like, “Oh my God, where did I park?”, she says.
“It looks real”
Thanks to Yvette Heikka Mukka training seniors in fraud, she was able to quickly see that the emails were fake. But she understands that there are many who can be deceived by the scam.
– They look so real, that’s what’s so terrible. The logo looks like that of the Swedish Transport Agency and not only that, at the bottom it says that you can contact the Swedish Transport Agency, says Yvette Heikka Mukka.
The Swedish Transport Agency: “Half-swallowed language”
Since July, the Swedish Transport Agency has been warning about fake emails being sent out, but in recent days the notifications have increased drastically.
– The feeling is quite clear that this is the most extensive to date. We get a lot of reactions both from people who contact us and the media, says Mikael Andersson, press manager at the Swedish Transport Agency.
The authority itself never sends out emails that invite you to click on links. And besides checking the sender, there are other ways to detect that the email is a scam.
– They have a rather half-baked language and the emails have a lot of linguistic errors that you can react to. “Thank you for your speed” is an expression we don’t use, says Mikael Andersson.
“I have a hard time forgiving”
Earlier this year, the authority had its trademark stolen several times, including when fraudsters copied the yellow strip attached to the windshield wiper.
– I think it’s terrible and get so angry that you cheat people of their money in order to make money. I find it difficult to forgive and see why people do this, says Yvette Heikka Mukka.