Latest news with #NewYorkDMV
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
DMV Text Scam Warning Issued
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Scam warnings have been issued in multiple states over criminals pretending to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles. The fraud scheme - which sees the attacker issue fake traffic tickets in order to get them to click on an unsafe link - has been reported in Florida, North Carolina, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. Officials said the scammers threatened their victims with a license suspension, registration revocation, or further legal action. They added that any messages of this kind should be reported to the authorities. New York DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said in a statement: "These scammers flood phones with these texts, hoping to trick unsuspecting New Yorkers into handing over their personal information. DMV will not send you texts asking for your personal information." Scam warnings have been issued in multiple states over criminals pretending to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Scam warnings have been issued in multiple states over criminals pretending to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Photo by Mesh Cube / Getty Images This is a breaking story. More to follow.
Fox News
06-05-2025
- Fox News
REAL ID documents held up in mail according to Americans who enrolled before deadline
The countdown is on. In just one day, Americans will no longer be able to travel with a standard driver's license as their ID. Instead, they will need a REAL ID, with a gold star showing in the upper right-hand corner. Travelers will need to show their REAL ID or other forms of acceptable identification on domestic flights starting Wednesday, May 7. The deadline has sparked panic among many Americans who have been rushing to obtain the new identification before their travels, with some still waiting to receive their REAL IDs in the mail. Flyers who enrolled for a REAL ID will receive the identification via mail with the times varying by state. The New York DMV said after passengers apply, they will receive a temporary document and "it takes about 2 weeks for your new Enhanced and REAL ID document to arrive in the mail." In California, meanwhile, according to their DMV, "it typically takes 2 to 4 weeks to receive a physical REAL ID card in the mail after applying." In the state of Michigan, the identification should arrive in the mail within two to three weeks, according to its DMV site. Pennsylvania, for its part, said it will mail out a REAL ID within 15 business days if a person enrolls at a DMV; but if a traveler visits a PennDOT REAL ID Center, the person can "be verified in real time, and your REAL ID will be issued [the] same day." Daniel Velez, a spokesperson for TSA New England, shared advice with Fox News Digital about what passengers should do if they're still waiting for their REAL IDs. "Passengers who present a non-compliant state ID along with a state letter or receipt will still be subject to additional screening but should be able to proceed faster than those who only present a state letter or receipt," said Velez. He added, "We strongly suggest (even if you have a receipt/letter from the DMV) that passengers bring another form of an acceptable ID such as a U.S. passport in order to proceed through security faster." Velez said that if passengers do not have any acceptable ID, TSA "strongly suggest[s] they arrive to the airport 3 hours prior to their departure time." "I tried calling, can't reach a person." Other forms of identification that will be accepted in lieu of a REAL ID include a valid U.S. passport or passport card; DHS trusted traveler cards such as Global Entry; Department of Defense IDs; permanent resident cards; and border crossing cards. In the "r/AskChicago" forum on Reddit, one person posted a note with the headline, "What to do if REAL ID is lost in mail." The person wrote, "I went in to get my REAL ID driver's license on April 7, and the tracker on the secretary of state's website says it was mailed out on the 15th, but I still haven't received it. I tried calling, can't reach a person. I tried filling out their online form a few days ago and haven't gotten any sort of response." The user asked, "I'm wondering if it's taken anyone else this long to get their ID." Redditors took to the comments section to share their thoughts on the matter. "It happened to me once. Waited for over a month and nothing showed up in my mail. Went to secretary of state and applied for another replacement, paid the fee," commented a Redditor. One user said, "Went in for a corrected license on the 16th and just got it today. I noticed mail is running really slow lately." Another person posted in the "r/Charlotte" forum, asking, "Should I be concerned I have yet to receive my REAL ID in the mail? It's been a month." "I went on April 2nd. I have the temporary one they printed at the DMV, but I was just wondering how long it's taken others to get theirs in the mail before I spend a lot of time making calls trying to track it down," the person wrote. Another user commented, "I still can't believe the deadline is really here after what feels like a decade of talks, lol." "I would be concerned." Said still another person, "You have a lot more faith in the DMV and USPS to be fast than I do." One Redditor said, "Thousands of people are going each day. I'm guessing they're just overloaded, tbh. I decided to just use my passport until it dies down. Chaos out there." "I mean, I expected it to take longer because they are getting slammed now, but I'm a little concerned," commented one person. Another user added, "I went late last month and got my REAL ID in less than 2 weeks in the mail. My wife went earlier this month and got hers quickly also. So I would be concerned."
CBS News
17-04-2025
- CBS News
Trekkie license plate puzzler: Tickets from Chicago connected to grandmother in New York who has no car and doesn't drive
In October 2024, automated enforcement cameras in Chicago caught a dark-colored Nissan Sentra with New York Plate NCC1701 speeding along Kedzie Avenue through Marquette Park and running a red light at 79th and Halsted streets in Auburn Gresham. The plates came back to a woman who lives in Long Island, New York. The only problem is that woman doesn't drive any longer and has not owned a car registered to that license plate since 2020. The husband of 76-year-old Beda Koorey loved "Star Trek." Being a Trekkie, naturally, his license plate reflected that fandom. "He got those plates in, if I can remember, It was like in 1978," Koorey said. NCC-1701 is the number on the original USS Enterprise back when Captain Kirk was steering that ship. Eventually, Mr. Koorey got a new car and new plates — and NCC1701 ended up on cars she drove. But. the widowed Koorey, whose sight is now failing, hasn't had her hands on a steering wheel for five years. She sold her last car and turned those New York NCC1701 plates back into the state. She has documents detailing those plates were surrendered to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles in April 2020 and destroyed. Soon after putting the Trekkie plate to rest, Koorey got anything but rest. Hundreds of tickets started racing into her mailbox. "I've gone through a horror show with this," Koorey said. Since those license plates were destroyed, she has received hundreds of tickets in the mail. "I had red light pictures and speeding and parking and towing in Virginia Beach; Florida; Maryland; Baltimore; Washington, D.C. — all over the country." Those red-light camera violations have come in from more than 20 states, in fact. And, it's not just tickets. "In Ohio, the police officer called me looking for me, my cars," Koorey said. "I had to explain… because the car was involved in a robbery." Koorey said the officer in Ohio stopped looking into her after they spoke, realizing it was a mistake. In other states, it took more work. "In Florida, they wouldn't even accept the documentation from the Department of Motor Vehicles in New York, including the certified letter," Koorey said. "So that's why I had to eventually write to the Attorney General." In Chicago, Koorey was also getting nowhere — even after sending the New York documented proof she sold her car and the plates were destroyed in 2020. She got three $100 tickets incurred in October 2024, which by March 2025 had turned into a $600 collection notice. Koorey's attorney, Kenneth Mollins, got to work. "I personally ran the plate through the New York DMV, and there it was. She came up as the last owner of the plate," Mollins said. "So at that point, I said I can't let this go on." Mollins volunteered his time after hearing her story on New York television stations, including WCBS-TV, CBS New York . "I wrote to the DMV and told them that we were going to consider bringing litigation," he said. "Heard back from their general counsel, who I'm told doesn't really call anybody. And it took him a day or two and it was done." Mollins was able to get Koorey's name separated from the NCC1701 New York plate in the DMV system. Eventually, many of the tickets also got dismissed. But Mollins said hit a roadblock. "But not in the great state of Illinois," he said. "In Chicago… I could get nobody who gave a darnn." CBS News Chicago sent the same documentation to the Chicago Department of Finance, and within days, Koorey's tickets had disappeared. Two factors played a role in Beda Koorey receiving so many wrong tickets from all across the country, including Chicago. First, when a ticketing authority like Chicago's Department of Finance or a state toll road snaps a photo of the license plate on the vehicle for the violation and runs the plate, the New York NCC1701 comes back to Koorey. However, Koorey never owned a Nissan Sentra like the vehicle seen in the Chicago ticket images. In New York — and across the country — a variety of vehicles with that same New York plate were photographed breaking traffic laws. "This has stressed me out for five years to the point where I've ignored medication, I've ignored doctor appointments," said Koorey. "I've ignored so many things that I had to be focused on, but I couldn't be focused on it because I couldn't sleep." Koorey's ticket trouble may be wrapped up — but an issue remains that could allow this to happen to anyone anywhere. Just go online. Through Amazon, for example, various sellers advertise license plates you can customize and buy for any state. Paul Steier, director of vehicle programs for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), said license plate readers are reading characters on a plate and the name of the state, but can't do the most important thing. "Those readers aren't necessarily detecting the authenticity of the plate," he said. And that has an even bigger impact than people like Koorey receiving wrongful tickets. "That's why your tolling industry… they'll tell you the millions and millions of dollars they lose annually because they cannot track down the correct and rightful owner of that vehicle that [got] those tolls," Steier said. It's easy to buy a copy of a real plate. What's harder is to quantify how big of a problem like Koorey's is in any particular state or nationwide. But Steier has a suggestion for how to curtail the problem, however it large it is. "We've encouraged our members, our state members or Canadian members to get to work with our legislators to prohibit the allowance of a plate to be sold that replicates, that mirrors or counterfeits an exact plate that they issue," he said. The attorneys general of New York and Illinois say they are "monitoring" the issue.
