The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is warning you about a new email scam.
Here's how this new “phishing” campaign works, a user receives a fake email stating they must pay a ticket within 48 hours or their license will be revoked. While the notice is made to appear as if it comes from DMV, it is a hoax.
The fake emails pretend to be from DMV, and report that the State Police has advised DMV that the recipient has several outstanding traffic violations. It then provides two links to either plead guilty or to refute the tickets. The links direct unsuspecting users to a malicious download that may expose your computer to a virus. If you receive one of these emails, delete the email immediately. Do not click on any links in the email and do not forward the email.
“The Department of Motor Vehicles does not send emails urging motorists to pay traffic tickets within 48 hours or lose your license,” said Terri Egan, DMV Deputy Executive Commissioner. “It is unfortunate that people use our agency’s name to target innocent consumers. We urge New Yorkers to always remain cautious about opening email attachments or following links, even if they appear to come from legitimate agencies.”
According to officials, here's how you can mitigate a phishing attempt and keep your personal data safe:
- Exercise caution with all email communications you receive, including those that purport to be from a trusted entity. Inspect the sender’s information to confirm the email was generated from a legitimate source.
- 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.
- Be suspicious of links embedded in an unsolicited email.
- Don’t open unexpected email attachments. The attached files may be hiding malicious software.
- Don’t send your personal information via email. Legitimate businesses will not ask users to send sensitive personal information through email.
- Don’t post sensitive information online. The less information you post, the less data you make available to a cyber criminal for use in developing a potential attack or scam.
- Use strong passwords – Use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters as well as numbers and symbols when creating a new password. Don’t use your name, birth date, or common words. Use a different password for each of your accounts.
You can find phone numbers and the email for the DMV in their website: https://dmv.ny.gov/
