Have you received a text message about an overdue traffic ticket charge? It’s likely a scam.
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is warning customers about a new text scam where fraudsters pose as the Virginia DMV and falsely claim customers owe money for unpaid fines, according to a release from the organization.
In the text message, the scammers urgently tell the recipient to pay a fine to avoid having their license and registration suspended and include a link in the message. Clicking that link could result in personal information being stolen.
“The DMV will never send you text messages demanding payment for fines or fees,” Gerald Lackey, DMV commissioner, said in the release. “We urge our customers to be vigilant and avoid sending your personal information via text.”
Here are some tips from the Federal Trade Commission on how to avoid falling for a text scam like this:
- Don’t click on any links in, or respond to, unexpected texts. Scammers want you to react quickly, but it’s best to stop and check it out.
- Check to see if the text is legit. Reach out to the agency using a phone number or website you know is real — not the info from the text.
- Report and delete unwanted text messages. Use your phone’s “report junk” option to report unwanted texts to your messaging app or forward them to 7726 (SPAM). Once you’ve checked it out and reported it, delete the text.
Phishing texts or other suspicious communication can be reported to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
This article was written by FFXnow’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
