This DMV Text Is the Latest Phishing Scam
The newest text scam gaining traction is a message that (badly) impersonates your state’s DMV, threatening to revoke your license if you don’t pay the debt. NPR reports that DMVs in New York, Florida, and California have warned residents about this scam, but it’s been spotted in other places, too ( including Utah , where I live).
How DMV Text Message Scams Work
This scam purports to be from your state’s DMV or Department of Motor Vehicles, warning of unpaid traffic tickets or tolls. The message directs recipients to a link to pay these supposed fines or risk losing their license (or “driving privileges”) or facing a lawsuit. It also references a state law that may actually be legal (though unrelated to the warning) , but that doesn’t mean the text itself is.
The DMV scams that are currently circulating are similar to the unpaid toll scam and the unpaid parking scam , both of which are examples of smishing or SMS phishing . This type of attack relies on text messages to try to convince victims to click on malicious links and reveal personal or financial information or download malware to their device in the process. Smishing scammers often try to impersonate legitimate institutions, such as banks and government agencies.
According to Robokiller , Americans received 19.2 billion spam messages in April 2025, one example of which is smishing. That’s an average of 63 messages per person.
Red Flags to Look Out for in Text Message Scams
DMV scams may seem obvious, but scammers hope that some recipients will believe an official text that threatens real consequences and act without further investigation. That’s why you should be wary of any message, text or otherwise, that demands urgent action or evokes an emotional response.
If you read more closely, you’ll notice additional red flags. The sender may be an email address or a non-local (even international) phone number — official text messages from government agencies typically come from five-digit numbers. The department name may be incorrect, such as Florida State Department of Motor Vehicles (fake) instead of Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (real). The URL for paying the supposed fine is not an official state site (e.g., https://utah[dot]gov-etcwirs[dot]cc), and it may be inactive, so it bypasses your device’s security features. And, of course, there may be minor spelling and grammar errors and odd formatting.