Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is sounding the alarm about a new wave of text scams that falsely threaten license penalties and registration suspensions, according to a community announcement.
The messages claim to come from the Secretary of State’s office or the DMV and pressure recipients to click a link or pay a fabricated fine. The announcement advises residents not to engage with unsolicited texts and to avoid sharing any personal information.
According to the announcement, scammers have recently escalated their tactics by designing messages that appear increasingly official. Some texts reference fake regulations or list made‑up penalty start dates to create urgency and compel quick action. The schemes aim to frighten people into turning over sensitive information or money.
The announcement outlines several steps for handling suspicious messages: do not click on links, do not reply and do not provide financial or personal details. Instead, the public is asked to forward the messages to scamalert@ilsos.gov for review.
“These text messages look legitimate and are designed to frighten people into acting quickly before they have time to think,” Giannoulias said in the announcement. He stressed that the Secretary of State’s office will never send texts demanding payment or threatening enforcement actions.
According to the announcement, the office uses text messaging only for reminders about scheduled DMV appointments. It does not send texts regarding license status, registration issues or any type of enforcement action.
This story was created by Dave DeMille, ddemille@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois warns drivers about surge in DMV text scams
Reporting by Dave DeMille, State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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