Clerk of Superior Court Jess Hill said he was surprised when he got a text message threatening him with potential legal action over a traffic ticket.
Hill said that he had not been stopped and issued a citation. He occasionally uses toll roads while traveling to other parts of the state, but not very often. When he did travel on the toll roads, he said, “I always paid them.
“I was sure it had to be a mistake,” he said when he received a text message warning him of an “outstanding traffic ticket.”
Then he looked closer, and realized it was a scam. The text came in on the deadline for payment, adding to the urgent sound of the message.
Hill isn’t the only Columbus resident receiving the messages demanding payment via a website. He said his office has received multiple calls in recent days from locals concerned about their own warnings from the “North Carolina State Department of Vehicles.”
The scammer warned that unless Hill went to an official sounding website, he could face suspension of a vehicle registration, a suspended driver’s license, a credit score hit, prosecution and more.
“I wanted people to know this isn’t real,” Hill said. “It has a lot of people concerned.’
Area law enforcement as well as the Division of Motor Vehicles have issued warnings about the scam messages, which can frighten some people into thinking they are facing legal trouble. The website in the text allows scammers to gather data from the user’s telephone as well as intimidating the “defendant” into paying fines and fees.
Never attempt to satisfy a fine or threat of criminal action over a traffic ticket via a website sent by a text message, Hill said.
“Neither the clerk’s office nor the DMV will ever contact you via text demanding payment. If you get one of these texts, simply ignore it. Feel free to contact our office any time if you have concerns over a traffic ticket or a message like this.”
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