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SMS text phishing (SMiShing) scams impersonating the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) or the obsolete New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) continue to be reported to the NJCCIC. The messages claim that the user has an outstanding traffic ticket and payment is due. If not paid by the deadline, the user will have their vehicle registration and driving privileges suspended, receive a toll booth charge increase, and their credit score will be affected. The URL displayed in the message includes “njmvc” and “pay” to appear legitimate; however, the URL contains a “.icu” top-level domain (TLD) instead of the official “.gov” TLD. The message itself does not permit the user to click the included link directly, but instead instructs them to reply to the message with “Y” and reopen the message to click the link or to copy the URL to their browser. These links lead to fraudulent websites that contain NJ MVC logos and branding and attempt to extract personally identifiable information (PII), financial information, or account credentials. The NJ MVC only sends text messages to remind residents about scheduled MVC appointments. It does not send text messages regarding driver’s licenses or vehicle registration status. Recommendations

• Avoid clicking links, responding to, or acting on unsolicited text messages.
• Confirm requests from senders via contact information obtained from verified and official sources.
• Type official website URLs into browsers manually.
• Report SMiShing to the NJCCIC and the FBI's IC3, and forward the message to 7726 (SPAM).