BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is once again warning New Yorkers to be wary of fraudulent text messages.
With this scam, text messages are sent to New Yorkers appearing to be from the DMV, asking the recipient to validate their COVID-19 status and to verify their driver's license information. Anyone who receives a text like this is told to delete the message right away.
According to the DMV, the text message phishing scheme is looking to obtain the personal information of New Yorkers, which can be used to commit identity theft. The fraudulent messages can also be used to trick the recipient into installing malicious software onto their device.
The NYS Office of Information Technology Services recommends New Yorkers follow these precautions to help protect against scams:
- Exercise caution with all communications you receive. This includes messages that appear to come from a trusted entity. It's advised that you inspect the sender's information to ensure that it is coming from a legitimate source.
- Keep an eye out for typical signs of a phishing scam, such as poor spelling or grammar, use of threats, and a URL that does not match with that of a legitimate site.
- If you receive an unsolicited message from an unverified source, do not click on the embedded links.
- Never send your personal information via text.
- Do not post sensitive information online.
For more information about the DMV phishing scams, click here.
For more information about how to protect yourself against phishing attacks, click here.
