TRANSPORT Authority Managing Director Ralston Smith has strongly condemned what he says is the worrying trend of scammers using the identity of public officials to swindle individuals, branding it a direct attack on the integrity of public figures.

Smith said he was recently informed that scammers are using his identity to contact people and trick them into believing that the Transport Authority is having an auction to dispose of brand new vehicles stationed at Kingston Wharves.

The matter has been reported to the police.

“The use of public officials’ identity for scams is an attempt to tarnish and sully the good nature and good character of public officials,” said Smith.

“It is a worrying trend, and I am particularly concerned that an attempt would be made by criminal elements to tarnish the image of public officials in this industry,” he added.

Earlier this year criminals orchestrated a similar scam using the identity of Transport Minister Daryl Vaz.

Police had reported that a suspect claiming to be Vaz’s assistant and identifying himself as Mr Reynolds, a customs officer, had approached a Portland businessman offering him an opportunity to purchase two 2019 Toyota Prado motor vehicles while asking for a payment of $2.5 million for customs duties and storage fees. The businessman subsequently contacted Vaz who denied making any proposition. The man was arrested and charged with obtaining money by false pretence.

“It’s a sad situation that as a society persons would resort to this kind of criminal behaviour. What we have to be watchful of is the fact that the criminal minds are becoming more and more creative in terms of the execution of their criminal activities, and we urge members of the public, having knowledge of this, to report these matters to the appropriate authorities,” Smith said.

He said that Transport Authority does have an upcoming auction, but this is not the way the entity would go about selling the vehicles.

“To be very clear: The Transport Authority, whenever it is conducting an auction, the auction would be for seized vehicles we have in our bonds and these are generally old, decrepit vehicles — not brand new vehicles as persons are purporting,” said Smith.

“The authority does this by way of public auctions, and in that arrangement we attract the services of an auctioneer and the auctioneer would do the auction itself. The authority has nothing to do with the auction itself and so we would not be contacting any person at all, neither would we ask anyone to make any deposit or payment on any seized vehicles for auction,” he explained.

“I want to use this opportunity to warn the media, to warn the persons out there to not fall for those kinds of scams,” he added, urging anyone contacted by these criminals to report it to the police.