CONSUMER ALERT: Scams target licensed drivers in Washington

Attorney General Nick Brown is warning consumers about a rising wave of text and email "phishing" or "imposter" scams targeting licensed drivers in Washington state. Scammers posing as local and state government agencies, such as the Washington State Department of Licensing and the Department of Transportation, are sending consumers fraudulent text and email messages that demand payment for unpaid traffic tickets or toll fees.

Consumers who receive such electronic messages should not click on any links within the message, should avoid replying to the message, and should delete the message from their device.

Washington's Department of Licensing and the Federal Trade Commission have issued consumer alerts about these activities.

These are examples of a common type of imposter scam, sometimes called "Phishing". Imposters or "Phishers" may contact consumers by email, text message, telephone, letter, or other means. Often imposters pretend to be from a legitimate company or government entity, or will use official-sounding names and will ask you to make a payment or to verify financial account information, passwords, or other personal information to access your account. Imposters also may threaten to terminate your account or in some cases even threaten to have you arrested unless you provide the requested information.

It is very difficult to locate such imposters because many of them operate out of foreign countries. Most of them use various phone systems to bounce their calls to various locations within and outside the United States to disguise their actual phone number.

This in turn makes it very difficult to prosecute them and recover consumer funds. Given these difficulties, there is little our office can do to stop communications from imposters. You may wish to contact the following agencies for assistance or guidance:

• Federal Trade Commission: Call toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or file a complaint online at: http://ftc.gov/

• U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Mail Fraud: Call 1-800-372-8347 or file a complaint online at: https://www.uspis.gov/report

• Online fraud: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center, http://www.ic3.gov

• Phonebusters, the Canadian anti-fraud call center: http://www.phonebusters.com or call 888-495-8501

Our office offers the following tips if you receive any phishing attempts:

• Be skeptical of warnings that accounts will be shut down with little or no notice if you don't reconfirm your billing information

• Don't click on website links in suspicious emails; contact the legitimate company directly using a telephone number or a website found on your statement or other correspondence

If you've given personal information, consider the following:

• Carefully check credit card and bank statements for unauthorized charges each month

• Contact the fraud departments of each credit bureau and report that sensitive financial information has been compromised; ask that a "fraud alert" be placed on your file

• If your financial accounts have been fraudulently accessed or opened, contact each company's security department; close these accounts; use creative passwords on your accounts

• If your financial information is used for illicit purposes, file a report with your local police or the police where the identity theft took place and get a copy of the report

• If you feel you are a victim of Identity Theft, visit the Washington State Attorney General's website at http://www.atg.wa.gov/identity-theftprivacy or contact the Federal Trade Commission by calling toll-free 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338) or visit their website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft for help

Any person that believes they may be the target of a scam should file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office. Our office will make every effort to provide helpful resources. Complaints also help our office track scammer activity and sometimes can result in a favorable resolution.

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Washington's Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state's largest law firm, the Attorney General's Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington's 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

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