HONOLULU — Residents of the City and County of Honolulu are urged to remain vigilant and cautious about scam texts or emails claiming to be from the “Hawaiʻi Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV),” including a new wave of fraudulent messages that surfaced over the past several days.
These scams are designed to deceive unsuspecting residents into providing sensitive personal or financial information and making payments for a fake “traffic fine,” often accompanied by urgent and threatening language about unpaid tickets. In some cases, the messages attempt to pressure recipients into acting quickly before verifying the information.
In some text messages that are circulating as part of the current scam, threats include messages saying their vehicle registration will be cancelled, driver’s license will be suspended or legal proceeding will be initiated.
The DMV does not, and will not, send unsolicited requests for payment, personal information, or account details via text message or email. Any such communication should be treated as suspicious. Legitimate tickets for traffic violations are sent by U.S. mail only. Residents who receive these messages are strongly encouraged to block the sender immediately, delete the message, and avoid clicking on any links or responding in any way. Anyone who falls for a scam and makes a payment should immediately contact the company managing their payment (credit cart company, bank, etc.) to secure their account.
