2 days ago
Spooked Americans terrorized by texts from shadowy 'Ministry of Communications'
Arizona residents have been terrorized by a sketchy new text message scam that uses a fake government agency to convince people into handing over their personal information.
Spooked residents across Arizona and several other states have been hit with alarming texts this week claiming to be from the non-existent 'Arizona Ministry of Communications.'
The chilling messages warn recipients they have outstanding traffic tickets and threaten to suspend their vehicle registration.
The scam has become so widespread that even Good Morning Arizona anchors Scott Pasmore and Tess Rafols both received the identical threatening messages at exactly the same time on Wednesday, they shared on AZ Family.
'We got hit with the SAME SCAM at the same time this morning!!! Don't fall for it!' Rafols warned her Instagram followers alongside a photo of the sketchy text.
'Scott and I literally got this text around 9am saying we had an outstanding traffic ticket and to pay up or else….' she continued in the Instagram post.
Hundreds of users commented on the warning admitting they had also received the same text that week.
Scammers behind the fake texts are attempting to trick Americans into clicking dangerous links and sharing sensitive personal information.
The chilling messages warn recipients they have outstanding traffic tickets and threaten to suspend their vehicle registration
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has confirmed that the messages are an elaborate scam designed to steal personal data and potentially drain bank accounts.
Mayes issued an urgent warning to residents: 'If you get a text from the 'Arizona Ministry of Communications' ignore and delete it.'
'And you can always report text scams to my office or to the FTC,' Mayes warned.
In March, the FBI warned that a texting scam targeting Americans for months is now spreading to even more states.
The ongoing scheme has been trying to trick people into thinking they have unpaid road tolls and that they have to pay them off immediately to avoid expensive late fees.
Federal officials said smartphone users need to delete these messages immediately and alert the actual toll service the scammers are claiming to represent.
According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), they've already received over 2,000 complaints about this smishing scam.
'Smishing' is an attack by cybercriminals using fake text messages to get people to share private information, send money, or download malware onto their smartphone.
In spring 2024, IC3 warned that the scam was targeting smartphone users in at least three states.
A year later, the criminals appear to be targeting most of the US, from New York to Washington state.
And in March, FBI agents in Seattle said locals need to be on the lookout for more fake messages about unpaid tolls, mounting debt by drivers, and threats of stiff fines.
