RICHMOND—The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is alerting customers about a new text scam where fraudsters pose as DMV and falsely claim money is owed for unpaid fines.
In the text message, the scammers urgently tell folks 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,” said commissioner Gerald Lackey. “We urge our customers to be vigilant and avoid sending your personal information via text.”
To avoid becoming a victim of a text scam, the Federal Trade Commission recommends:
• Don’t click on any links in, or respond to, unexpected texts. Scammers want a quick reaction, 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 that is known—not the info from the text.
• Report and delete unwanted text messages. Use the phone’s “report junk” option to report unwanted texts or forward them to 7726, then delete the text.
Phishing texts or other suspicious communication can also be reported to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
