Buying a motorway vignette takes a minute. That is exactly what scammers count on: you want it done quickly, you click the first link, and a few weeks later you discover payments leaving your card that you know nothing about. Vignette fraud is among the most widespread scams in Slovakia and the surrounding countries, and it returns every year, strongest in January when tens of thousands of drivers buy a vignette at the same time. Here are all the tricks currently in use and the simple rules that keep you clear of them.

The only official place: eznamka.sk

Let us start with the most important fact. The Slovak electronic motorway vignette is sold exclusively by the National Motorway Company through:

  • the website eznamka.sk,
  • the official eZnamka app,
  • physical points of sale (petrol stations, border crossings).

Everything else is at best a reseller with a markup, at worst plain fraud. The same applies abroad: the Czech vignette is bought at edalnice.cz and the Austrian one at asfinag.at. Before a trip, look up the official address in advance and save it.

Trick no. 1: fake sites in search ads

The most common scenario: you type “vignette Slovakia” into a search engine and click the first result. That result may not be the official site but a paid ad placed by a reseller or a scammer. These sites look credible at first glance: proper wording, logos, a motorway in the background. They differ in three things:

  • The domain is not eznamka.sk. They use hyphens, different endings or extra words. The domain is the one thing a scammer cannot make look identical.
  • The price is higher than the official one. The markup hides as a “service fee”. Always check the official price at eznamka.sk.
  • A subscription is hidden in the small print. By ticking a box you agree to a recurring monthly charge for vague “services”. That is the most expensive part, because you only notice it months later.

The defence is simple: always type eznamka.sk into the browser by hand and skip the ad results entirely when buying vignettes.

Trick no. 2: the “your vignette has expired” SMS

The second wave arrives directly in your messages: an SMS or e-mail saying your vignette has expired, or was “not paid correctly”, with a link for immediate payment. The message pushes urgency (“within 24 hours”, “a fine is pending”) and the link leads to a fake payment page that hands your card details straight to the scammers.

Remember one thing: the vignette operator does not send such messages with payment links. If in doubt, check your vignette validity yourself at eznamka.sk using your number plate. You can also have a suspicious message assessed by our phishing e-mail checker, which uncovers spoofed links and fake senders right in your browser. How these messages work in general is covered in scam messages and phishing and fraudulent e-mails.

Trick no. 3: the fake fine

The third variant is the most aggressive: an e-mail or SMS posing as a fine for driving without a valid vignette, sometimes with a fake police or road-authority header. The goal is the same, to push you onto a payment page while you are stressed. A real fine never arrives as an SMS with a card payment link; official decisions come by post or through official government channels.

How to buy a vignette safely: 4 rules

  1. Type the address by hand: eznamka.sk (CZ: edalnice.cz, AT: asfinag.at). No ads, no links from messages.
  2. Check the price against the official price list. A higher price means a reseller or a scam.
  3. Watch where you are when paying. The payment gateway must run on the official domain, not an unknown address.
  4. Check your card statement after the purchase and again a month later. A hidden subscription only shows up with the second charge.

What to do if you have already paid the scammers

Act immediately; the order of steps matters:

  1. Call your bank and have the card blocked. Request a chargeback; with card payments it often succeeds.
  2. Check for recurring payments. If a subscription has started, the bank can block it on the card.
  3. Verify that you actually have a valid vignette. If the fake site never bought it, you are driving without one and a real fine is a risk. Buy it right away at eznamka.sk.
  4. Report the fraud to the police. It helps others too; these campaigns run in waves and warnings are based on reports.
  5. If you entered a password anywhere, change it and enable two-factor authentication.

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Send it to us before you click. We will assess it, advise on the next steps and help secure your accounts and devices after a scam. For businesses and homes in the Liptov region.

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Summary

Buy your vignette only at eznamka.sk (typed by hand), in the official eZnamka app or at a point of sale. Skip search ads, delete SMS messages about “expired vignettes” and fines, and always compare the price with the official one. If you have already paid scammers, block the card, request a chargeback and check whether you have a valid vignette at all. A few seconds of attention at purchase saves you months of hidden charges.

This article is part of our Cybersecurity overview.