US cities warn of wave of unpaid parking phishing texts

HELLFIRE

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/us-cities-warn-of-wave-of-unpaid-parking-phishing-texts/

US cities are warning of an ongoing mobile phishing campaign pretending to be texts from the city’s parking violation departments about unpaid parking invoices, that if unpaid, will incur an additional $35 fine per day. …

Figure is good from a free reeducation / safe hex POV to share this story.

Regards

Rook

HELLFIRE If the City Of New York wants me to pay a fine, they can send me a letter in the mail with details of the violation and how I can respond.
Texts and e-mails get ignored or blocked/reported.

vaxvms

From the story

A $35 daily overdue fee will be charged if payment is not made today

Scams never demand immediate action. /s

telcodad

vaxvms A $35 daily overdue fee will be charged if payment is not made today

Scams never demand immediate action. /s

Yeah, and scams would never demand payment by purchasing gift cards and then ask you to provide them with all the card details! /s

antdude

It happens everywhere now. IIRC, scammers were trying to trick old DSLReports.com members with their accounts too.

vaxvms

broknsymetry Like you I don’t have a driver’s license but have gotten dozens of SMS text and email of these messages. Some of them have been sent to multiple recipients in the same message. Do we all own $19.99? Will we all be punished if we all don’t send Apple gift cards in the next 90 minutes?

DrStrange

Rook NYC or MTA or whoever will absolutely find you and mail you a letter if you incur toll charges and don’t have an EZPass. They send a letter to the address of the registered owner of the vehicle. Used to get them for the ex. It’s the same process for red-light and speed cameras in NYC, I’d assume.

vaxvms

This story refers the these types of texts as “smishing”
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/13/nx-s1-5326090/dont-click-here-to-pay-your-tolls-how-you-can-stop-spam-texts-smishing

Smishing rose by 22% in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, an international nonprofit. It added that scammers were impersonating entities that weren’t previously frequent targets, from gas and electric companies to municipal ticket payment agencies.

Another spike occurred at the start of 2025, Teresa Murray, director of the consumer watchdog program at U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), https://apwg.org/, tells NPR. She says it’s a reminder that scammers adapt their tactics to take advantage of events and profit from moments of confusion.

While older adults are often viewed as having more problems navigating the digital world, a report from Truecaller found that younger adults are far more likely to fall prey to a phone scam.

broknsymetry

Phishing uses emails, smishing uses SMS texts, a matter of semantics but IMO they are the same and I prefer the former.

broknsymetry

Also discussed briefly here: https://broadbandbulletin.com/d/1497-us-cities-warn-of-wave-of-unpaid-parking-phishing-texts

telcodad

A wave of fake texts purporting to be from the NJ “DMV” are now being received by drivers claiming they have an unpaid parking tickets now. My wife received 2 of those on Sunday.

New Jersey MVC warns drivers about this latest text scam demanding money
By Larry Higgs, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com - July 28, 2025
https://www.nj.com/news/2025/07/new-jersey-mvc-warns-drivers-about-this-latest-text-scam-demanding-money.html

Drivers have been besieged in the past by official-looking text messages claiming they have unpaid tolls and they better pay up, which toll road operators have said are false: https://www.nj.com/news/2025/01/heres-how-to-spot-the-new-e-zpass-text-smishing-scam-targeting-nj-drivers.html

Now drivers are getting texts claiming to be from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission saying they have unpaid traffic tickets and face fines, license and registration suspensions. ….

[What’s funny is that, in NJ, there is no “Department of Motor Vehicles” anymore. Back in 2003, the NJ DMV transitioned to the new “Motor Vehicle Commission.” 😉 ]