A phishing text message scam targeting drivers in Washington and across the U.S. began circulating in recent weeks, with some purporting to be from the state’s and Seattle’s “Department of Motor Vehicles” — two agencies that don’t exist.
Don’t click any links within the messages, said Thomas Charlson, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Licensing, which administers driver’s licenses in the state. The best way to handle them is to simply click ‘delete and report junk,’ ” Charlson said.
People started receiving variations of the same phishing text message from various email addresses and from telephone numbers beginning with +63, the international area code for the Philippines. The messages all appear to cite a city or state code called “15C-16.003,” which doesn’t exist, and claim the recipient will face consequences if they don’t pay an outstanding traffic ticket or violation…