A new texting scam is hitting Arizonan’s cellphones, claiming recipients need to pay an outstanding traffic ticket
The Arizona Department of Transportation warned drivers about a new smishing attempt targeting Arizonans that uses the department’s logo to try to seem more legitimate.
“Scam texts are now taking a multimedia approach to make you think you owe money to the Arizona Department of Transportation – or, in this case, the nonexistent Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles,” according to a news release from ADOT. “Some scammers are adding an ADOT Motor Vehicle Division logo to this all-too-common fake claiming unpaid traffic citations and promising penalties aplenty if you don’t pay.”
In the texts, the scammers attempt to collect on an “unpaid traffic citation,” saying you must pay within a few days or your vehicle registration and license will be suspended and you will have to pay hefty fines. The texts have been circulating for several weeks.
One sure way to spot these fake texts is that the scammers incorrectly claim to be from the Arizona DMV. However, Arizona calls this group the MVD.
Other signs this is a scam include references to toll booths, which Arizona doesn’t have; citing a law that isn’t real; and misspellings and grammatical errors in the text messages.
Here’s what to know about the rise of “smishing” and what to do if you receive this scam text message.
“Smishing” is a social engineering attack that uses fake text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or sending money to hackers, according to IBM. The term is a combination of “SMS” or “short message service” and “phishing,” an umbrella term for social engineering attacks.
If you receive a toll road text message you suspect could be a scam, the FBI previously suggested to do the following:

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