Fraudsters send fake emails and texts posing as Latvia's road traffic agency after data breach

Latvia's Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) has warned residents that fraudsters are sending fake emails and text messages under its name, attempting to obtain money or personal data. The agency shared the warning on its Twitter account.

CSDD urged people to be cautious with any email claiming to be from the agency and to carefully check whether links actually lead to its genuine website address, "e.csdd.lv". The directorate noted that information about fines can be safely checked through the official CSDD mobile app, the e-CSDD online system, or by manually typing "https://e.csdd.lv" into a browser.

Fraud wave follows cyberattack

The warning comes after CSDD suffered a serious cyberattack on the night of August 8. The breach exposed the personal data of roughly 1.2 million individuals and about 200,000 legal entities, obtained from records of payments made to the directorate over the past 18 years.

Following the incident, both the CSDD supervisory council and the company's board announced their resignation on August 19. Transport Minister Rihards Kozlovskis has called for an expedited internal investigation to determine the circumstances of the cyberattack and those responsible, including a review of CSDD's contract with company Tet for cybersecurity services.

President Edgars Rinkēvičs has sent a letter to the Prosecutor General requesting a review of how CSDD officials handled data security.

CSDD is a state-owned joint-stock company under the Transport Ministry, responsible for vehicle registration, issuing driving licenses, and conducting technical inspections in Latvia.