There are 228 million licensed drivers in the United States and 276 million registered vehicles, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Our need to regularly update or renew the documents that keep us on the road creates lots of work for the state-level agencies commonly known as DMVs (for department or division of motor vehicles) — and lots of opportunities for scammers.
DMV scams are a form of phishing that takes advantage of government offices’ efforts to provide more services online, including driver’s license renewal in many states. Crooks seek to lure motorists to phony versions of government websites on the pretext of helping them with tasks such as license renewal or title transfer.
The scam often starts with a text message purporting to be from your state’s DMV. (Some state motor-vehicle agencies do send text notifications, but only to consumers who’ve signed up for the service.) It might say you’re at risk of having your license suspended over an overdue fee, or you’re due a refund on fees you’ve already paid, or you have to enter personal information to meet the federal government’s looming Real ID requirement for air travel.
The message will include a link that takes you to what looks like an authentic government site, where you’re asked to pay a fee to fix the issue, or to update…
