TALLAHASSEE – The holidays are packed with joy, cheer, and scams. This year, a new scam has been brought to the attention of the Florida Highway Patrol and troopers are now warning consumers to beware.
Like most scams, the Traffic Citation Scam starts with an email.
The email is designed to make it look like it came from the Florida DHSMV and states that the recipient has a past due traffic citation that needs to be paid.
It even goes as far as listing a false citation number, offense, and location of the offense; all under the official logo of the Florida DHSMV.
It also tells its recipient that if the fine is not paid by a specified date, that there will be daily “late fees” accrued and then provides a link to make a payment online.
Troopers are warning consumers to beware of any emails received claiming to be from the Clerk of Court or DHSMV stating that these organizations do not send out email citations to customers.
To prevent being a victim of this scam, troopers ask consumers to keep in mind that neither the DHSMV or Clerk of Court require citation payments via email, citation numbers are always a 7-digit alphanumeric number.
If you receive an email claiming to be from either of the above-mentioned organizations, you are urged to contact the DHSMV or Clerk of Courts immediately.