DMV Text & Email Scams Are Spreading State by State Again

DMV Text & Email Scams Are Spreading State by State

By Greg Collier

Scammers posing as state Departments of Motor Vehicles are once again flooding phones and inboxes across the country, using fear, urgency, and official-sounding language to trick people into handing over money and personal information.

Recent warnings from officials in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Illinois all describe nearly identical schemes, and the red flags are remarkably consistent.

This is not a coincidence. It’s a coordinated scam pattern.

What’s Going On

Residents in multiple states are receiving texts or emails claiming to be from their state DMV, warning of:

  • An unpaid parking ticket or vehicle fee
  • Impending license suspension
  • Loss of vehicle registration or driving privileges
  • Additional penalties, fees, or “enforcement” starting on a specific date

The messages typically include a link and pressure recipients to act immediately.

Officials in all three states are clear:
These messages are scams.

How the Scam Works

The scam relies on a few predictable tactics:

  1. Authority impersonation
    Messages appear to come from a state DMV or Secretary of State’s office.
  2. Urgency and fear
    Threats of suspended licenses, revoked registrations, fines, or legal consequences are meant to override skepticism.
  3. Payment links
    Victims are directed to fraudulent websites designed to harvest:
    • Credit card numbers
    • Banking details
    • Personal identifying information
  4. Legal-sounding language
    Some messages falsely claim that “enforcement has begun” or cite made-up penalties to sound legitimate.

Red Flags

Across all three states, officials highlighted the same warning signs:

  • DMVs do not collect payments by text or email
  • DMVs do not send links demanding payment
  • Threats of immediate suspension are a classic scam tactic
  • Messages demanding action “today” or “before enforcement begins” are suspicious
  • Any request for payment or personal information via text is a red flag

In North Carolina, officials also warned about scam links ending in “.cc,” which are not associated with state or local government websites.

What Your State DMV Will Never Do

According to officials in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Illinois:

  • They will never:
    • Text or email demanding money
    • Send payment links
    • Threaten license suspension by text
    • Request personal or financial information electronically

In Illinois, the Secretary of State emphasized that the only texts his office sends are appointment reminders and nothing else.

If You’ve Been Targeted

If you get a DMV-related text or email like this:

  1. Do not click any links
  2. Do not respond
  3. Do not provide personal or financial information
  4. Report the message as spam
  5. Delete it

If you’re genuinely concerned about a ticket or fee, contact your state DMV directly using an official website or publicly listed phone number and never the contact information in the message itself.

Illinois officials also recommend reporting these scams to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The Big Picture

What’s happening here isn’t a one-off scam; it’s a template.

Once scammers find a message that works, they replicate it across states, changing only the agency name and local details. The goal is volume: send enough messages, and someone will click.

The good news is that the defenses are simple:

  • Slow down
  • Be skeptical
  • Verify independently

No legitimate DMV business is conducted through threatening text messages.

Final Thoughts

If a message claims to be from the DMV and demands money by text or email, it’s a scam, full stop.

When in doubt, ignore the message and go directly to your state’s official DMV website or phone number.

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