Many people in the USA have received fake DMV messages on their phones. Some of these texts tell them to pay their unpaid traffic violations or toll debts, or face some form of punishment. As you can imagine, this is an obvious attempt to scam people. Sadly, it seems that after many months of seeing this ruse, it’s still happening, and now, the DMV scam has started targeting some people in Dallas, Texas. The bright side is that with the scam being too old, most people already know how to avoid it.
Redditor woohoo shared the picture on the Dallas subreddit of an email they got from the alleged Texas Department of Motor Vehicles or DMV, which is clearly a scam. If you receive this text or email, it may indicate that you have unpaid tolls or the most recent ones, claiming you have unpaid traffic violations. In case it wasn’t obvious, this is a scam. The DMV will never contact you for things like this. This is a way to get your information and steal your money.
Another red flag from this ruse is the URL that the messages point to. It sends you to a very shady side, and if you follow the steps, the site will steal your data and your money, so do not fall for it. Even if the message says “Reply Y,” don’t do this. All you have to do is ignore it, delete it, and move on.
Some Dallas Redditors have pointed out a few other red flags from the DMV scam.
“You would think the email address it’s coming from would be a DEAD GIVE AWAY, but sure enough every couple weeks someone on here is asking if it’s legit” – Fiss via Reddit.
A few others made fun of the matter, claiming that the way the texts are written might be a bit too advanced for the DMV’s systems.
“You can tell it’s a scam because texting is way too advanced of a technology for the DMV/NTTA.” – EvadTB via Reddit.
In any case, this is a clear ruse and one you should be wary of. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who fall for it. Usually, these scams target vulnerable citizens who don’t know much about technology. So, if you have someone like that, tell them to be careful and never follow shady links on the web.
