NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles on Friday issued a warning to drivers about a text messaging phishing scheme.
According to the DMV, illegitimate text messages are asking New Yorkers to verify their driver’s license information and to validate their COVID-19 vaccination status.
Anyone who receives the text message should immediately delete it, the DMV advised.
The agency provided two examples of the phony texts being sent to some residents.
“Phishing texts are fraudulent messages designed to obtain data or sensitive personal information to be used to commit identity theft or trick the recipient into installing malicious software onto a computer or mobile device,” the DMV added.
To protect against phishing scams, the NYS Office of Information Technology Service (ITS) has issued the following precautions:
DO exercise caution with all communications you receive, including those that appear to be from a trusted entity. Inspect the sender’s information to confirm the message was generated from a legitimate source.
DO keep an eye out for telltale signs of phishing - poor spelling or grammar, the use of threats, the URL does not match that of the legitimate site. If the message does not feel right, chances are it is not.
DON’T click on links embedded in an unsolicited message from an unverified source.
DON’T send your personal information via text. Legitimate businesses will not ask users to send sensitive personal information through text message.
DON’T post sensitive information online. The less information you post, the less data you make available to a cybercriminal for use in developing a potential attack or scam.