Warning for motorists paying speeding fines in South Africa

The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) has warned motorists to be wary of a recent increase in scams claiming to represent traffic fines and other notices issued under the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act.

AARTO was officially rolled out across 62 major municipalities on 1 July 2026, making several important changes to the way traffic infringements are handled in South Africa.

These recent changes have led to a sharp rise in scammers targeting motorists, copying the AARTO platform to take advantage of individuals who are not familiar with how the new laws work.

These scammers send messages via SMS, WhatsApp, and email, directing people to cloned payment platforms used to steal their money and personal data, reported MyBroadband.

“The RTIA emphasises that it is the only entity which is legally authorised to administer and process fines under the AARTO Act,” it said.

“Motorists are strongly advised to make payments only through verified and approved payment platforms.”

The agency said that motorists should always use the 16-digit infringement notice number as a reference. It also doesn’t need the RTIA bank account to make payments on official platforms.

“These fake messages claim to be AARTO fines, often with threats of licence blocks, vehicle disc blocks, and additional penalties,” the RTIA said.

“The only official AARTO website is https://online.aarto.gov.za. Do not make payments or provide personal details on any other website claiming to be AARTO.”

Importantly, it said to pay attention to the domain shown in the link. Any link that uses a .com, a .co.za, or a .online domain is fraudulent.

The RTIA shared examples of the scams making the rounds in South Africa, and explained how they work.

Many people who received the scam were told to pay R250 on the day they received the notification in order to qualify for a discount on their traffic fines.

The agency stressed that you should not click on these links and delete the email immediately.

Two of the subject lines used by these scam emails are “Final Notice: Action Required to Avoid Additional Penalties” and “Final Demand: Enforcement Notices.”

These emails typically threaten that the user will be blocked from being able to renew their licence if they do not immediately respond.

“Many are sent after working hours and on weekends to create panic. They also target specific times of the month when clients are likely to have money in their bank accounts,” said the RTIA.

Other red flags that motorists can use to check if a notice is fraudulent include typos and incorrect names, including the spelling of agencies and services like NATIS.

“Do not click any link in an SMS/WhatsApp/email about AARTO fines. Do not make payments on any site other than the AARTO official payment platforms,” the RTIA said.

Anyone who has received a suspicious message must not share their personal information, such as their ID number, banking details, or licence card information.

All official AARTO notices are delivered in password-protected PDFs that can only be unlocked with the account holder’s ID number, Business BRN/TRN, or passport number.