Beware DMV Text Scams Targeting Older Adults

Takeaways

• Scammers target older adults with urgent, phony messages pretending to be official government organizations like the DMV or tolling agencies, aiming to phish for personal information or immediate payment.
• If you receive such a text, do not click on links or respond; instead, verify the legitimacy by contacting the agency directly through official channels and report the scam.

Scams targeting older adults can result in significant financial losses. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), people in the United States lost $12.5 billion in scams in 2024, and older adults tended to lose more money than younger folks. Those in their 70s lost $1,000 to scammers on average, compared with a median of $417 lost by people in their 20s.

One way that scammers target people is by pretending to be an official government organization, like the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to phish for personal or financial information. Scammers pair these phony messages with a sense of urgency, prompting people to hand over such personally identifiable information as their date of birth or bank account numbers, or give money before they have time to assess the validity of the communication. Perpetrators often hide behind technology, contacting targets over the telephone, email, or text.

Two Traffic Scams

Recently, scammers have been pretending to be an official tolling agency or the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). These phishing scams claim that the recipient has unpaid tolls or traffic tickets. The Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice website has put out warnings that texts that appear to be from the DMV about unpaid tolls or traffic tickets are likely scams.

Here’s an overview of how these scams work:

Unpaid Tolls Scam

If you receive a text claiming to be from a state tolling agency demanding payment, it is likely a scam, the FTC warns. The text creates a false sense of urgency, demanding immediate payment and including a link to a fake website where victims are prompted to enter their credit card information.

Unpaid Traffic Ticket Scam

The FTC also warns of a related traffic ticket scam in which scammers pretend to be the DMV from states across the country. The text aims to scare recipients into clicking a link to pay a fake overdue traffic ticket. The text may contain numerous empty threats, including the following:

• Entering you into a DMV violation database
• Suspending your vehicle registration, license, and driving privileges
• Charging you a 35 percent service fee
• Criminal prosecution
• Ruining your credit score

What to Do If You Receive a Scam Text

If you receive urgent-sounding text messages that appear to be from the DMV or a tolling agency, investigate before acting.

The FTC advises not to open any links or respond. Before acting, verify the text by reaching out to your DMV. However, don’t use any links or numbers from the text, as they are likely also fake. Instead, contact your local DMV directly.

Some older adults may find it helpful to get a second opinion from a trusted individual, such as a tech-savvy grandchild.

Finally, report the scam by using your phone’s “report junk” option or forward texts to 7726 (SPAM) and then delete the text.