Miami-Dade officials are sounding the alarm on a growing text message scam that falsely claims to be from the DMV, warning residents that their licenses may be suspended due to unpaid tolls.
Authorities say it’s a phishing scheme aimed at stealing personal information and money.
Fake texts claim license suspension over unpaid tolls
Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez said his office has seen a surge in reports from residents who received fraudulent text messages.
“These are hackers that are sending this text message to try to steal information from our residents,” Fernandez said.
The messages often claim the recipient must pay a fee or risk having their driver’s license suspended.
“I actually had a friend tell me about it at work and she fell for it,” said Rowena Mendat, who shared that her friend lost hundreds of dollars after receiving such a message.
“She had a text message saying that she had to pay something and if it wasn’t paid that she was going to have a suspended license,” Mendat said.
Fernandez emphasized that the Florida DMV does not conduct license reinstatements through text messages.
“The motor vehicle of the state of Florida never, never send text message to you to reinstate your driver license as a matter of fact this process need to be in person,” he said.
Scammers and scalpers target DMV services
This scam alert comes as Florida cracks down on another issue plaguing the DMV: appointment scalpers.
Scalpers attempting to sell DMV appointments can now face serious penalties following the unanimous passage of House Bill 0961 by the state legislature.
“If they do that now they can be fined for $1,000 or one year in prison,” Fernandez said.
Meanwhile, residents like Mendat continue to struggle with the DMV system.
“Just drive around Broward County until I find a DMV that will accept a walk in,” she said.
Fernandez added that his office is working with both state and federal authorities to track down the scammers behind the fake messages.
