Latest news with #NewYorkStateDepartmentofMotorVehicles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BBB of Upstate NY warns drivers of DMV text message scam making the rounds
The Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York is alerting the public to another phishing text message scam making the rounds, this time claiming to be from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Cell phone users have reported receiving a message claiming their license and registration will be suspended if they don't pay for an outstanding traffic ticket. BBB reminds the public that the DMV will never contact individuals via text message asking for personal or payment information. Phishing scams, also known as SMS or smishing scams, have been on the rise in recent years. According to a BBB study, reports of phishing scams doubled from 2022-2023 and broke a record in 2024. They are the #2 most frequently reported scam to BBB of Upstate NY. BBB has also received reports of phony New York State toll collection notice text message scams in the past year. BBB reminds consumers not to engage with any suspicious messages like this. Any phishing message should be deleted and marked as spam. As a reminder, anyone who receives a scam message should report it using BBB Scam Tracker.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Drivers beware! The DMV warns of a new text scam
SYRACUSE, NY (WSYR-TV) The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is warning customers to be aware of the latest phishing scam, where scammers try to gain access to personal information by pretending to be from the DMV. This is the latest in a series of text message phishing schemes the DMV has warned New Yorkers to avoid. Previous scams claimed that E-ZPass accounts were about to be suspended. Phishing texts are fraudulent messages designed to obtain data or sensitive personal information to be used to commit identity theft or trick the recipient into installing malicious software onto a computer or mobile device. The New York State Department of Information Technology Services advises avoiding phishing attacks. Here are some tips: Be cautious about all communications you receive, including those that claim to be from 'trusted entities.' Be careful when clicking any links contained within those messages. If in doubt, do not click. Do not send your personal information via email. Legitimate businesses will not ask users to send sensitive personal information through email. Keep an eye out for telltale signs: poor spelling or grammar, the use of threats, or the URL does not match that of the legitimate site. Be wary of how much information you post online. The less information you post, the less data you make available to a cybercriminal for use in developing a potential attack or scam. A phishing text will often look like this: You can find other examples of what a phishing scam looks like on the DMV website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Real ID deadline one month away
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) –Starting May 7th, a standard license or non-driver ID will no longer be accepted to fly within the U.S. Americans will have to have either a REAL ID or an enhanced ID. Both are different from a standard ID because they have emblems on them. Chemung County DMV Deputy Director Janice Farwell says having an Enhanced ID is an upgraded version of the real ID. 'The REAL ID will get you onto domestic flights within the US and into federal buildings. The Enhanced license does that and gets you to Canada, Mexico, some of the Caribbean by land or Sea,' said Farwell. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is urging New Yorkers to apply for a REAL ID or an Enhanced ID now to avoid the last minute rush. 'They should consider getting at least a REAL ID and come to the DMV in the morning or at least before three. we get really busy after three,' added Farwell. If you don't get one of them by the May 7th deadline, you don't have to worry unless you are flying in the near future. 'That's fine. We can still do it after the deadline. They just may not have an approved federal ID to get on a domestic flight. So, if they plan on getting on a flight, they want to be sure they have it before then.' Farwell says there is no additional fee for a REAL ID if you are renewing. There is a $30 extra fee to get an Enhanced ID. You can visit Enhanced or REAL ID | NY DMV for a list of documents needed in order to apply. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
03-04-2025
- CBS News
Deadline to get a Real ID or Enhanced Driver's License is fast approaching. Here's what you need to know.
In just about a month, Americans will need a Real ID to go through airport security, or enter most federal buildings . As the May 7 deadline approaches, the final warnings to be ready are increasing. "About 43% of people in New York state who have a photo ID are already Real ID-compliant," said Lisa Koumjian of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Koumjian says that leaves millions of adults who might run into trouble when they try to board a flight on or after May 7. Getting a Real ID, which has a star in the corner, requires an in-person visit to your state's DMV. The same is true of an Enhanced Driver's License, or EDL, but it is only currently available In New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, and Washington. An EDL, which has an American flag in the corner, also covers all of the same travel requirements. Typically you'll need a valid ID, passport or birth certificate, proof of your Social Security number and date of birth, plus two items proving state residency to get either. A valid passport is an acceptable alternative, along with a handful of other documents, including a card from the "Global Entry" program. So the big question is what happens after May 7 if you show up at the airport and you don't have a compliant ID or passport? The Transportation Security Administration says that is still being worked out. "We'll inform them, next week, exactly what the process is gonna be," TSA Security Director John Essig said, adding if that also means some who are not yet Real ID-compliant may not be able to take their flight, "I can't even say. We'll let everyone know exactly what's gonna go on." Your best bet is to not wait around any longer. "I have to bring my passport with me, yeah, and then I have to look into the whole process of getting the Real ID, so that should be fun," said Giana Labanca, who was flying to Miami from LaGuardia Airport on Thursday. Traveler Deena Goidel offered some musical advice, singing "Get your ID right now, oh yeah!"
