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Fact Check
Phone messages notifying motorists of a “traffic violation” and requesting them to pay the penalty through a link similar to the GovPay system.
According to the Sri Lanka Police, these messages are a scam and motorists have been advised not to click on the links.
Several motorists are receiving messages on their phones, both through Whatsapp and SMS, notifying the recipients of a traffic violation and then directing them to pay a penalty.
These messages state that these traffic violations were automatically identified by “a fixed traffic surveillance system” (similar to CCTV cameras) and ask the motorist to settle the fine using a link that has “govpay” in the url. GovPay is the digital payment system the Sri Lanka Police uses when a motorist has to pay fines for traffic violations.
Given the suspicious nature of the message, Newschecker decided to check its veracity.
2. We then looked into the official procedure the Sri Lanka Police uses in such cases of traffic violations flagged by automated surveillance systems. The procedure states that the software sends chargesheets, along with the video showing the relevant violation to the police stations in the police area where the drivers who committed the relevant traffic violations reside. Then the police station delivers the traffic violation notice to the residence of the person. This procedure has been confirmed by various other sources including mainstream media such as AdaDerana and The Sunday Times since February 2024, when the system started operating in the Colombo city and nearby suburbs.
It was evident that the above message circulating via WhatsApp and SMS contradicts this official procedure.
3. We also checked the url of the payment link closely and noticed that it states govpay.cfd instead of govpay.lk, which is the domain the Sri Lanka Police and other state institutions use.
4. We also noted that the Sri Lanka Police has issued a statement via their social media, website, and other mainstream media, specifically requesting motorists to not open such links, while reminding them of the official procedure used in similar cases of traffic violations.
Moreover, the link in the message is now blocked, according to the media statement of the police. Also, when we looked up the website on Google Chrome, the ScamAdviser extension, which helps helps users determine the trustworthiness of websites, flagged it as “dangerous,” saying, “Attackers on the site you tried visiting might trick you into installing software or revealing things like your passwords, phone, or credit card numbers…”.
SMS and WhatsApp messages being sent to motorists claiming they have committed traffic offences and requesting them to pay relevant fines via a link similar to the GovPay system are a scam. Motorists are advised not to click on the links.
FAQs
Q1. What does the message state?
The message states that the recipient has committed a traffic offence which has been caught by automated traffic surveillance systems and that the fine needs to be paid using the GovPay link in the same message.
Q2. What is the GovPay payment link mentioned in the message?
www.govpay.cfd
Q3. What is the accurate GovPay link?
www.govpay.lk
Our Sources
Post on verified Facebook account of Sri Lanka Police, published on May 28, 2026
‘Police warn of fake traffic fine SMS scam targeting motorists’, published in NewsWire, May 27, 2026
‘Legal action taken against 4,000 motorists using CCTV footage in Colombo’, published in AdaDerana, April 22, 2025
‘With 103 CCTVs eyeing motorists on Colombo roads, drivers think twice before breaking rules’, published in The Sunday Times, February 2, 2025
‘New software launched to impose fines on drivers violating traffic rules using surveillance’, published on the official Sri Lanka Police website www.police.lk, February 21, 2025
False
