WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine has announced, according to the District’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), D.C. residents are being targeted by an alleged “phishing” scam.
The scam involves an email message sent to consumers with the headline “Notice of overdue parking violation(s).” The email asks consumers to pay for past-due fines or face the potential impounding of their vehicles.
“Phishing is a way to steal information from consumers through the Internet, and it can lead to major problems -- including identity theft,” Racine said. “Consumers should always be extremely vigilant and verify that any e-mail message they receive actually comes from its purported sender before clicking on a link contained in that message.”
Another potential scam involves emails from info@localmailserver.info that falsely allege to be a “Notice of unsatisfied photo enforcement ticket.”
Racine notes that, unless consumers have signed up for the DMV’s email ticket alert systems, recipients of tickets will only receive notification via the mail.