Wisconsin Department Of Transportation Warns Of Another New Scam

Scams are nothing new but a new scam circulating around Wisconsin hits really close to home. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is warning residents of the scam and what to look out for.

There is no shortage of scams these days. Recently, the Better Business Bureau warned of a new scam involving concert tickets and Ticketmaster. The BBB says scammers are making fake websites posing as the company, which results in people buying phony concert tickets.

There's another timely scam to be aware of as well. A Minnesota Sheriff's Office issued a warning for parents about posting back to school photos as kids head back to the classroom. Why? Because scammers are using the information in the photos to scam families.

Over the summer, Wisconsin residents were on high alert after yet another scam. The Washington County Sheriff's Office issued a warning about a new voicemail scam that was going around in the area. There's a lot to look out for these days.

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Now, Wisconsin residents have another reason to be on high alert. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation issued a warning on Thursday (September 8th) about yet another new scam.

This scam is a phishing scam, where scammers get to you via text messages. This is an attempt to phish your information by posing as the Wisconsin DMV. As with all scams, scammers are trying to get as much information about you as possible.

So what exactly does this phishing text say? The text message begins by saying you are receiving a message from the "Department of Vehicle" which doesn't make sense when you write it out. Looking at it, though, it is easy to see why people don't question it.

The text continues by saying that there is a refund waiting for you. It is followed by a link that you are instructed to click on so that you can "verify" the details. Clearly, this is meant to get your personal information. Take a look at the screenshot below:

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation also offered some tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of scams like these. They advise against clicking any link that you aren't entirely sure of. They also suggest ignoring messages like these and making sure that your information is coming from a legitimate source, one that usually ends in gov.

If you have anyone in your life that may fall for something like this, make sure to let them in on the scam so they don't click the link in question. This isn't the first time the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has had to deal with something like this.

Back in November of 2021, they warned of another text message scam. That one is a bit different in that the messages sent out by scammers, while still posing as employees of the DMV, seemed even more legitimate. Be careful out there!