Washington ‘DMV’ text message is a scam, official warns

SEATTLE – A phishing text message scam targeting drivers in Washington and across the U.S. began circulating in recent weeks, with some purporting to be from the state’s and Seattle’s “Department of Motor Vehicles” – two agencies that don’t exist.

Don’t click any links within the messages, said Thomas Charlson, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Licensing, which administers driver’s licenses in the state. The best way to handle them is to simply “click ‘delete and report junk,’ ” Charlson said.

People started receiving variations of the same phishing text message from various email addresses and from telephone numbers beginning with +63, the international area code for the Philippines. The messages all appear to cite a city or state code called “15C-16.003,” which doesn’t exist, and claim the recipient will face consequences if they don’t pay an outstanding traffic ticket or violation.

Those fake consequences include the driver being reported to what the texts called an “illegal database,” having their vehicle registration suspended, seeing their “driving privileges” suspended for 30 days, getting charged a 35% service fee at an unspecific toll station and being sued or having their credit score affected, according to reviews of the messages.

The messages all direct the recipients to pay a fine by clicking a link, some of which appear to mimic the website addresses for real state agencies.

Charlson was at work Monday when he received one of the text messages shortly before noon.

Right away, he knew it was a scam. The state doesn’t have a “Department of Motor Vehicles,” and the state’s licensing department never sends out unsolicited text messages or emails. The sender’s international area code and the message’s fake link were also red flags, he said.

But Charlson knew other recipients might not immediately recognize it as a phishing attempt. He shared a screenshot of the message he received to the licensing department’s X page on Monday, warning people about the scam. Alerts were also posted on the websites of the state licensing department and the Washington State Department of Transportation.

“We wanted to be proactive in case other people are getting the same kind of text scam and get the message out there,” he said.

There are at least two other ongoing phone scams targeting Washingtonians, including another text message claiming to be from WSDOT’s “Good to Go!” toll collection program, Charlson said.

The Seattle Municipal Court also warned people in a post on X on Monday about a scam robocall coming from the number (206) 386-0066, notifying the recipient of an upcoming hearing. The number is not affiliated with the court, and people should not respond with any personal information, the court’s X post said. The municipal court also posted on alert on its website saying the court does not use robocalls or text messages to notify people about court hearings or outstanding tickets.