Virginia DMV warns customers about recent traffic ticket scam texts

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is warning customers about a new scam in which residents are receiving fraudulent texts about a false traffic violation.

The scam texts urge customers to pay a fine to avoid having their license and registration suspended, and even provide a link to pay in the message.

According to the DMV, clicking that link could result in your personal information being stolen, making you a victim to the scam.

In a recent Facebook post shared by 8News, several viewers have shared their frustrations with the scam texts.

"The DMV will never send you text messages demanding payment for fines or fees, we urge our customers to be vigilant and avoid sending your personal information via text," said DMV Commissioner Gerald Lackey.

Here are a few tips from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on how you can avoid falling victim to a text scam like this:

• Don't click any of the link in or respond to unexpected texts: Scammers want you to react quickly but the best thing to do is to stop and check it out
• Chest to see if those texts are legit: Reach out to the agency using a phone number or website you know is real, not the info from the text
• Report and delete unwanted text messages: You can do this by using the "Report Junk" option on your phone to report unwanted texts on your app or forward them to "7726 SPAM"
• Once you have checked the message out and reported it delete it

To report a phishing texts and other suspicious communication you can report it to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.