Every day it seems, we get more unsolicited texts. Ones that make us pause as we read them but then question if it could be real.
I recently got several from the DMV that made pause. It appeared someone was using my phone number in the DMV virtual queue system in California. I do have a CA mobile phone number and I did live there. When I searched if the DMV uses text messaging for queueing, the AI response was Yes including how it worked.
However, when I put scam into the search, the AI response was No, the DMV does not use text messaging for their queue system. After further reading, I found the virtual queue system was no longer being used. I verified this on the CA DMV website under Appointments then Get in Line Now. That menu option redirected me to another website that was now defunct.
In Illinois, the pervasive text scam is unpaid tolls. The local Chicago news stations frequently remind its viewers that these are not real and not how the system works since so many have been conned into paying these scammers. If you live here, you have an iPass account and activated transponder. If you are passing through, you need to go online to the Illinois Tollway website within a certain amount of time and search your license plate to pay the outstanding toll.
They will never contact you via text. You will get a letter in the mail with the outstanding toll amount plus $15.00 for them to send the letter and invoice. How do I know, because I had a transponder fall from my windshield under the passenger seat where it apparently can’t be read.
The scammers are becoming far more creative. We need to engage our creative side to keep up, staying one step ahead just like the Road Runner does when Wile E. Coyote attempts to catch the fleeting bird. Wile E. Coyote (the scammer) devises complex and ludicrous traps which he hopes will help him catch the Road Runner (you.) The concocted plans invariably fail in improbable and spectacular fashion and the Road Runner escapes unscathed.
You, the Road Runner, need to be agile knowing how to evade the text traps set by Wile E. Coyote, the scammer. Your default reaction is to block the number before deleting the text or delete and report. As much as you want to respond to the text with at least a Beep Beep, especially to the ones that say Hi, resist this notion. Any response is an invitation for more ruses of you unknowingly signaling that your phone number is valid and giving up sensitive information.
For legitimate texts, you will be the one who has initiated and agreed to receiving them: appointment reminders, automated payments that you set up, reservations that you made, contractors that you requested quotes from, verification codes that you requested logging into one of your accounts.
While I don’t advocate marketing texts or political ones, this post on How to Identify a Text Scam is the best I could find that is recent and relevant.
For unsolicited, unknown texts, be the Road Runner!
Americans Lost $470 Million to Text Scams in 2024. Here’s How to Protect Yourself – CNET
Wile E Coyote And The Road Runner (Full Episodes) – YouTube
Featured Image: Saw Wile E, battle scars and all, trotting down the middle of the road not far from my house. I thought this was bold in broad daylight as he headed for a busy road until the camera picked up this one in my front yard. CA coyotes were more cunning trotting up the sidewalk at dusk like a dog until I realized there was no dog walker.
