Officials in several states said this month that scammers are again sending messages to Americans and tricking them into giving financial information under the guise of paying parking or toll fees.
In the messages, scammers often identify themselves as Department of Transportation or Superior Court employees and tell potential victims that “Records indicate unpaid traffic violations for your vehicle.”
The messages include dates when the department will take action such as suspending vehicle registration or charging fees if payment is not made by clicking on the link.
The issue appeared to be on the rise in March, as officials issued warnings about scams in Indiana, Maryland and Michigan.
The scam has been going on since at least 2024. Scammers often impersonate a toll service in the recipient’s state. For example, scammers have sent texts claiming to be from FastTrack, while residents of New York have been sent after scammers claiming to be from EZ Pass.
In April 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it received more than 2,000 complaints of scams representing toll road collection services in three states. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a January 2025 notice stating that scammers are at it again.
On Friday, March 20, USA TODAY contacted federal officials to ask about the scam messages, including the FBI, FTC, Internal Revenue Service, US Department of Justice and the General Services Administration, which regulates parking garages at federal buildings and locations across the US. The authorities have not yet responded.
How do I know if it’s a scam?
Recent scams have involved messages claiming to be from the Department of Transport. Scammers warn recipients that they have parking or toll fees that must be paid, or they risk having their vehicle registration or license suspended by the department, or charging them additional fees.
“Please review your case details and submit payment through the official MDOT website: https://maryland.org-gfcvc.bond/dmv,” scammers recently sent a Maryland resident. “Reply Y to update this notice. When ready, click the link above to complete your payment.”
Another resident in Maryland and Indiana received a message with similar claims.
This time, the scammers pretended to be representatives of the courts of Indiana and Maryland. In the message, the scammers include a case number and the name of a judge, and tell the recipient that their hearing is scheduled. Options include appealing or paying the fee online.
Some messages also include QR codes that customers can scan with their phones.
What do the officers say?
The Maryland Judiciary issued an alert on March 19 warning locals about the scams.
The notice reads, “This is a scam, and the Fayette (Street) Courthouse is closed.” “Recipients should not click on the link, scan the QR code, or provide any payment or personal information. Maryland courts do not send texts requesting payment or personal information via text, telephone or email.”
Judiciary said people who receive the text and have questions can contact the Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division’s hotline at 410-528-8662 or 888-743-0023.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office also issued a warning this week that foreign scammers are behind text scams in the state. According to the office, scammers have sent a “strongly worded text warning” to Indiana residents.
“The text appears authentic,” the office wrote. “It contains official-sounding language and an image of the state seal of Indiana. The problem is that the texts come from scammers running phishing scams.”
Phishing, or cyberattack, occurs when scammers impersonate legitimate organizations to get recipients to click on links, open infected attachments, provide sensitive information, and make financial payments.
“Don’t fall for these schemes,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in the notice. “Ignore these texts. Just delete them.”
How to spot a scam
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office said in its March 18 warning that scam messages often include:
- Urgent or threatening language.
- Websites and email addresses that do not match the official domain of the alleged sender.
- Unusual requests for sensitive personal information such as passwords, social security numbers or bank details. Legitimate organizations do not ask for this information via text.
- Common greetings and poor grammar.
- Incorrect/sloppy copies of the State Seal and other official symbols.
According to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, scammers may use services that sell US traffic fine data or information on people with actual traffic violations. Because these people have had recent traffic violations, they are more likely to fall for text message tricks.
The office said U.S. government agencies can’t stop scammers before they send messages, but world leaders are working together to stay updated about the tools scammers use to target people.
“Modern text fraud is an organized and innovative criminal enterprise,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in the warning. “We are doing everything in our power to bring these lawbreakers to justice, but we must focus more now on raising awareness and providing education to help Hoosiers avoid becoming victims in the first place.”
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Greta Cross, USA TODAY
Celine Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s Trending team. He is from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Email him at (email protected).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Get ‘strongly worded text warning’ about parking? This may be a scam.
Reporting by Selene Martin, USA TODAY/USA TODAY
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