WESTWOOD — A new text message scam demanding money for unpaid traffic tickets is circulating across the region — and AAA Northeast wants to ensure Massachusetts residents don’t fall victim.
The text message states that the recipient has an outstanding traffic ticket and will be subject to several penalties if the payment isn’t made by a certain date. The penalties detailed in the text message include being added to the RMV violation database, suspension of vehicle registration and suspension of driving privileges for 30 days, among other actions, followed by a link for payment.
This new traffic ticket scam comes after a similar E-ZPass scam in which text messages demanded money for unpaid tolls.
“We have been consistently hearing from members who are extremely concerned about these text messages and the status of their E-ZPass accounts or driver’s licenses,” said Mark Schieldrop, senior spokesperson for AAA Northeast. “If you receive a text message like this, it’s a scam — do not click on the link! Thieves are trying to trick unsuspecting victims into clicking suspicious links and providing personal information, but there are steps consumers can take to protect themselves.”
To avoid falling victim to these types of scams, AAA recommends the following:
- Know that the RMV sends official correspondence via mail and does not send text messages to collect payments.
- Never click on unfamiliar links or send sensitive information to unverified websites.
- Look for spelling errors in the body of the text message or strange letters in the URL, which are common among phishing scammers.
- Keep an eye out for messages from out-of-state or international phone numbers, which would never belong to local state agencies.
- Delete the text message and report it as junk.
- When in doubt, contact the agency in question or visit its website to see if the fee is legitimate.
- If you’ve already paid the fee, contact your credit or debit card provider and report the incident to the police.
