Alleged text scam urges Indiana users to pay outstanding traffic tickets

INDIANAPOLIS — A new text that appears to be a scam is being sent to Hoosiers from the “Indiana Department of Vehicles” about reported outstanding traffic tickets.

Many FOX59/CBS4 viewers, as well as some staff at the station, have received texts like the one shown below:

In the text, it states that the Indiana Department of Vehicles is providing a “final notice” of enforcement penalties surrounding an outstanding traffic ticket. The text states that if the user does not complete a payment by Friday, the department will take the following actions:

• Report to the DMV violation database
• Suspect your vehicle registration starting on June 7
• Suspend driving privileges for 30 days
• Transfer to a toll both and charge a 35% service fee
• Prosecution and credit score impacted

The text provides a URL that includes a IN.GOV webpage, with several letters included after a dash. The text then tells the user to “pay immediately before enforcement to avoid license suspension and further legal disputes.”

This comes as text scams have become more common. According to previous reports, text scammers took $470 million from victims in 2024 from various kinds of scams, including:

• Package delivery scams
• Fake job offers
• Toll road scams
• Wrong number scams.

Officials with the Federal Trade Commission urge users to never click on links or respond to unexpected texts. If individuals believe that the text is legitimate, they are encouraged to contact the company using a phone number or website that is real and not use the information in the text message.

In a social media post from Ted Bohner, a public information officer for the Indiana State Police for the Bremen District, he said that the texts are “100% scam.” Other Indiana State Police officials said that users from Central Indiana are also seeing the text.

“Scams use fear and urgency and this scam is no different,” Bohner’s post read. “Do not fall for this.”

FOX59/CBS4 has reached out to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles for a statement regarding these texts. Click here for some tips from the Federal Trade Commission on how to stop text scams.