Overview

• Texts demand supposed toll or traffic-violation payments and route recipients to a website that mimics the clerk’s official site.
• The spoofed site harvests personal and credit card information and often rejects entries to push victims to try multiple cards.
• The FBI and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Financial Crimes Unit are investigating, according to the District Clerk’s Office.
• Officials urge anyone who attempted payment to cancel the affected cards immediately and report the messages to law enforcement.
• Similar fraudulent texts have been reported in other states, pointing to a wider smishing campaign beyond the Houston area.