ADOT will never, ever hit you up for money by text message

Please pay close attention to this announcement from the Ministry of communications: ADOT will never, ever hit you up for money by text message. 

People were understandably confused and concerned last week when a couple of scam text messages claiming an ADOT connection began hitting phones. Both said that recipients owed for unpaid traffic tickets and promised all manner of bad things if payment wasn't forthcoming. One claimed to be from the Arizona Ministry of communications (and didn't even bother to capitalize communications). The other was said to be an Arizona Department of Transportation Final Enforcement Notice.

As was the case in recent months with scam texts alleging unpaid tolls, this is another version of what the Federal Bureau of Investigation refers to as “smishing.” This kind of social engineering attack tries to trick people into sending money by stoking fear and demanding urgent action. Look closely and you’ll notice that these texts, like so many other scam texts, come from another country.

Note that ADOT has no role in collecting for unpaid tickets. And we'll never text you seeking money. 

Warning about an increase in scam texts claiming to be from the government, the Arizona Attorney General's Office is offering advice in this news release. The Federal Trade Commission has tips here for identifying and dealing with spam text messages. 

 Make sure not to click on any links in these or any other suspect texts. Our advice: Delete them and rest easy.