Traffic ticket text scam impacts Tennesseans
The text claims the recipient has an outstanding traffic ticket, and if they don't pay, they will be reported, have their driving privileges revoked, and be sued. The message also includes a link to send the payment.
'It looks very similar to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security website, but it is a false website; it is not a correct website. It is strictly designed to try to trick you away from your money,' Lt. Bill Miller with the THP said.
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The text has been distributed to multiple Tennesseans, including the CEO and president of the BBB of Middle Tennessee.
'I personally received four in 24 hours,' Robyn Householder, CEO and president of the BBB of Middle Tennessee, said.
There are a few tell-tale signs the text is a trap, including the fact that it claims it's from the Department of Motor Vehicles, which isn't an agency in the state of Tennessee. Householder also told News 2 to pay attention to how the text is worded.
'Scammers are notorious for spelling things incorrectly or using really poor grammar or only capturing a portion of a company name, so we like to refer to that as scammer grammar,' Householder said.
In addition, a governmental agency will never send a warning through a text, nor will the agency use an aggressive tone to pressure the recipient to quickly act.
'Government agencies are not going to lead with threatening you. They're not going to lead with harassing language that creates a space where you think you have to act now,' Householder said. 'That's never going to be the case with a legitimate agency.'
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The BBB said those who receive the text should tap the delete and report as junk option on their phone. In addition, Tennesseans can report texts and other scams to the BBB's scam tracker by clicking here.
If you're a victim of this scam, click here for next steps.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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