NY Department of Motor Vehicles warns of scam text messages that threaten action for unpaid tickets

ALBANY — The state Department of Motor Vehicles is warning New Yorkers that texts claiming to be from the DMV and threatening enforcement action for an unpaid traffic ticket are phony and part of a new phishing ploy.

The best move is to delete the text and not reply to it or place the web address into a browser as ordered, DMV spokesman Walt McClure said. Replying to the message could snare a New Yorker in an illegal phishing scam that seeks to extract credit card numbers and other personal data.

"DMV will never ask for any personal identifying information or payment through text message," McClure said.

The text scam states: "New York State Department of Motor Vehicles final notice: enforcement penalties begin" on a date a day or two away. The text threatens a 35% penalty to be charged at a tollbooth, 30 days’ suspension of a driver's license and damage to the driver’s credit rating, all of which is false.

The scam is persistent, with some New Yorkers receiving the text repeatedly for several days.

New Yorkers had previously been targeted by phishing attacks that said E-ZPass accounts were going to be suspended without immediate action through the fraudulent text

"These scammers flood phones with these texts, hoping to trick unsuspecting New Yorkers into handing over their personal information," said Mark J.F. Schroeder, commissioner of motor vehicles.

"DMV will not send you texts asking for your personal information."

Phishing scams often claim to be "trusted entities," the state DMV warns: "If in doubt, do not click."

Some hints that a message could be a scam include poor grammar or spelling, use of threats or a web address that doesn’t match a legitimate site. In the latest scam, "nydmv.gov" is part of the address, but the full address is wrong.

Phishing scams are notoriously hard to investigate, and many are launched from outside the United States.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.