The Linn County Treasurer’s Office has received reports of fraudulent text messages appearing to come from the Iowa DOT or “DMV” and claiming the recipient has unpaid traffic violations, an unpaid toll, or registration fee. These text messages ask recipients to click on a link to provide personal information as well as credit card numbers. Many times, the link will lead to a website that looks like the Iowa DOT’s website.

Do not click these links. These text messages are not from the Iowa DOT or the Linn County Treasurer’s Office. The Iowa DOT and Linn County do not send out fee collection reminders via text and will never text customers asking for private or financial information.

If you receive a phishing text:

• Don’t click on any live links or paste links into a browser, nor respond to unexpected texts. Scammers want you to react quickly, but it’s best to stop and check it out.
• Report and delete unwanted text messages. Use your phone’s “report junk” option to report unwanted texts to your messaging app or forward them to 7726 (SPAM). Once you’ve checked it out and reported it, delete the text.

If you feel that you are a victim of a text scam:

• Consider filing a police report with your local law enforcement agency
• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission reportfraud.ftc.

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