04-03-2025
Nevada lawmakers target illegal DMV scalpers selling appointments
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Scalping DMV appointments has been an ongoing issue. Con artists are selling appointments to those willing to pay up, except they have no affiliation with the DMV and are scamming you out of your money and time.
Lawmakers are pushing for change. Senate Bill 169 would provide protections for consumers and other businesses who have fallen victim.
The bill would require a third-party reservation platform to have explicit written permission before leasing any restaurants or business services. Violators would be subject to civil penalties ensuring that unsupervised listings and misleading marketing practices are held accountable.
Those in favor of the bill also want to impose hefty fines on violators as scalping affects public services like the DMV, creating unfair costs and accessibility issues.
Malee and Tiara Simpson spent an hour and a half at the DMV and know how hard it can be to get an appointment.
'We had to wait a month for this appointment, and we had to make sure we had the right documents, and if you're trying to travel and on a time crunch, I can see how someone can fall for a scam trying to get in there,' Simpson explained.
Paolo David, the Public Information officer for Nevada DMV said the agency will not try to message you to book an appointment and you don't have to pay to schedule an appointment. He said many services can also be completed online at their official website.
'As for the moment we are remaining neutral on the bill, however, it came to our attention that there are some predatory websites that are trying to get money from the public,' David remarked. 'Again, we do discourage trying to get an appointment from an outside person. The number one thing is trying to communicate to the public that we are actually here and we're being transparent and we want you to be safe as well.'
Mary said she is interested to see the outcome of the bill and also added that there needs to be more action done to prevent these types of scams.
'There's so many scammers out there, we have to be careful of everything,' Mary added. 'I've got some friends that have fallen into the scams of various ones so I'm always careful.'
Under a proposed amendment, violations would be classified under the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act allowing the Attorney General to take action against offenders and it would allow businesses to privately sue these scalpers.
New York was the first state to pass a similar bill last year and lawmakers say SB 169 is mirrored after that bill. Seven states have also proposed similar bills like Florida, California, and South Carolina.
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