Don't fall for text message about $1,500 fuel rebate, DMV warns

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles on Friday blamed scammers for text messages falsely claiming the state was offering $1,500 rebates in response to high fuel prices. 

Clicking on the link led not to free cash but to a page designed to look like a DMV website, where users were prompted to enter information — including Social Security and driver's license numbers — that could expose them to identity theft, according to an agency release. 

“DMV will not send you text messages asking for your personal information,” agency Commissioner Mark Schroeder said in the release. 

The rebate scam is “the latest in a series of such text-message phishing schemes that DMV has warned New Yorkers to avoid,” the release said. 

In an email, a DMV spokesman said the text message links took victims to a website hosted on an IP address in Germany. The scheme appears to be aimed at stealing personal information, not exposing victims to malware.

DMV "works with state and federal authorities as well as our state cybersecurity experts to investigate these illegitimate messages and shut down any associated websites," the spokesman said. 

The spokesman did not say how many people had been victimized by the scam, or how any stolen personal information might have been used. 

A DMV web page showing screen shots of fraudulent text messages and emails includes dozens of examples dating back to November 2020.

Poor spelling or grammar, mismatched URL or use of threats may indicate that an electronic communication is fraudulent, according to the release, citing advice from the state’s Office of Information Technology Services. Sending sensitive personal information through email can be dangerous, as can clicking an emailed link, even one that appears to be from a trusted source.

By Nicholas Spangler

nicholas.spangler@newsday.comspanglernewsday

Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.