Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

U.S. Senator Tina Smith is pressing the Trump Administration to take action to combat a widespread text message scam affecting Minnesotans.

Thousands of Minnesotans are reporting fake text messages from senders impersonating the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). These impersonators urge Minnesotans to make an online payment for an unidentified traffic violation or risk prosecution, a loss of driving privileges and a damaged credit score, in addition to costing Minnesotans money.

“Beyond being a simple nuisance, these scams jeopardize the financial security of those it victimizes. And these messages threaten the peace of mind of thousands of Minnesotans who face the uncertainty of whether these messages are authentic,” Smith said.

She said she appreciated state officials who have confirmed the inauthenticity of the messages and urged caution, but because of the scale and sophistication of the scam, it calls for a federal response.

Fake DMV text messages have been reported across the nation, including Georgia, New York, Indiana, Florida, New Jersey and Colorado. Minnesotans faced a similar scam earlier this year when bad actors sent messages claiming to be the Minnesota Department of Transportation, soliciting payments for fake unpaid tolls.

If you received one of these messages and fell victim to the scam, file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov/.