Illinois Secretary Of State Issues Warning Over Fake DMV Texts

Here's a quick way to tell if you're being targeted by a scammer or scammers via text or email: You got a text/email from the “Illinois State Department of Motor Vehicles.”

That right there should be enough to have you smashing the delete button as fast as possible.

Why would a message from the Illinois State Department of Motor Vehicles alert you to the fact that you're in the crosshairs of a scammer? Because Illinois does not have an Illinois State Department of Motor Vehicles.

We have the Illinois Secretary of State's Office for things like driver's licenses, vehicle registration, titles, etc. Not an Illinois State Department of Motor Vehicles. Granted, the official name of Illinois' motor vehicle services is the Illinois Secretary of State's Office, but some of us just informally call it the DMV or Illinois DMV.

It Was A Little Over A Month Ago That The Illinois Tollway Sent Out A Similar Alert About Fake Texts And Emails

(Click here to read about the Tollway's warning)

These sorts of scams fall under the category of "Delivery Text Scam" that's been raking in cash and personal information from victims here in Illinois and throughout the entire country.

Scammers know that if you think that you'll have trouble with law enforcement if you don't comply with the scam text or email you get, you're more likely to comply just to avoid a future problem, and the scammers have been proven right over and over again.

That's why the Tollway reached out with a warning, and that's why Illinois' Secretary of State, Alexi Giannoulias felt compelled to reach out with a warning of his own:

To report scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission visit reportfraud.ftc.gov.