Scam texts are now taking a multimedia approach to make Arizona residents think they owe money to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) – or, in this case, the nonexistent Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles.
If it’s happening in Arizona you can bet it is happening elsewhere.
Some scammers are adding an ADOT Motor Vehicle Division logo to this all-too-common fake claiming unpaid traffic citations and promising stiff penalties if you don’t pay. ADOT has seen two versions so far, both of them featuring grammatical errors and originating from overseas.
ADOT does NOT collect for unpaid traffic citations. Another obvious tell in this text, among many others, is its use of “DMV” when ADOT in fact has an “MVD.”
Attorney General Kris Mayes recommends these steps to avoid being scammed:
• Ignore messages from unknown numbers claiming to be government agencies, financial institutions, shippers, and private companies.
• Never click links, reply to text messages or call numbers you don’t recognize.
• Do not respond, even if the message requests that you “text STOP” to end messages.
• Delete all suspicious texts. Look for red flags in the text message, like misspellings or directions pressuring you to act quickly.
• Protect any sensitive personal information including bank accounts, health records, social media accounts, etc., by using multi-factor authentication to access it.
If you are concerned that a government agency is legitimately trying to reach you, first delete the text, and then reach out to the agency directly. Research the legitimate agency’s contact information via a search engine (don’t rely on the text you received).
These texts are a social engineering attack that the Federal Bureau of Investigation calls “smishing.” Cybercriminals are trying to trick you into sending money by stoking fear and demanding urgent action, in this case by pretending to be a government agency.
Warning about an increase in scam texts claiming to be from the government, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office recently offered this advice.
MORE SCAMS TO BE AWARE OF
- Unpaid toll scam targets drivers nationwide
- Gas station credit card scams on the rise across the U.S. Don’t fall victim!
- Nationwide scam targets owners of missing pets
- All about RV VIN checks and how to avoid scams
- A growing scam could leave you stuck with a stolen vehicle
- Looking for a new dog? Don’t fall for a puppy scam!
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We get the same nonsense in Oklahoma. No DMV, DOT, law enforcement or government agency will text payment demands. It just doesn’t happen.
If you get a text demanding payment FROM ANYONE, it’s a scam.
We’ve gotten scams sent to us here in Wisconsin about unpaid toll fees. Unbeknown to the scammers obviously is Wisconsin does not have any toll roads. But yet, someone will pay the “fine”
Thank you for the warning, RV Travel! Good advice! Have a great day and safe travels!
We’ve been getting those scam messages in Wisconsin for some time now. They are so full of errors it’s unbelievable.
We’ve gotten those in Mississippi, too. We don’t have toll roads here and we’ve never traveled a toll road before. Our phone service allows an option to “delete and report junk” when deleting suspicious texts. Easy peasy.
I’ve received some texts from the Pennsylvania Highway Commission about unpaid tolls. Sorry, but its called the “Pennsylvania turnpike Commision”.
And they only notify you by “snail mail”.