Overview

• Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias issued the alert after several Illinoisans reported messages threatening to suspend vehicle registrations and driving privileges.
• The scam texts claim to be from the Illinois State Department of Motor Vehicles and aim to harvest personal or financial information.
• Giannoulias’ office emphasized that DMV-issued texts are limited to appointment confirmations and reminders.
• Residents are instructed not to respond to suspicious messages or click on embedded links and to file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission.
• The warning follows earlier phishing attempts targeting drivers with fraudulent toll-violation notifications from the Illinois Tollway this year.