Officials Warn Of New Wave Of Scam Attempts Impacting Wisconsin

Every year, I seem to write about countless scams that have targeted people, with varying degrees of success.

That's because scams remain prevalent throughout the United States, and experts warn that they are getting increasingly sophisticated, now often using artificial intelligence to clone voices or generate convincing messages that mimic trusted people and organizations.

In Wisconsin, imposter scams are the most common and costly form of fraud, often involving scammers posing as government officials, bank staff, or loved ones to steal money or personal information.

Now, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is warning consumers of a new wave of fraud attempts, and this time the scammers are pretending to be from WisDOT.

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WisDOT Warns Of New Fraud Attempts Impacting Wisconsin

According to officials, the latest phishing scam, often from out-of-state or out-of-country phone numbers, warns of a “Driver’s License Suspension Pending” or vague “violation details” with a demand for urgent action and payment, or a “continue for details” button with a link that could take you to unofficial and dangerous websites.

The ultimate goal of these scams is to get people to click on fraudulent links or provide personal information that scammers can use for identity theft or to steal money.

Some scam attempts can look very convincing and duplicate the look of official WisDOT content, and they've even created websites that mimic official WisDOT sites. However, these are not from WisDOT or DMV.

Wisconsin DMV urges consumers to be on the lookout for these solicitations and follow these tips:

• Be suspicious of demands for immediate action, personal information, or money.
• Do not share personal information with unsolicited emails or messages.
• If you have not signed up to receive email or text messages from DMV and receive an unsolicited text message or email from an unknown number or person, do not respond, engage with the caller, or click on links.
• Sign up for account activity alerts and renewal reminders by subscribing to Wisconsin DMV's eNotify. As with most bank accounts, you will receive transaction confirmations, which alert you to any fraudulent activity.

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What To Do If You Are The Victim Of A Scam

• File a police report with the local law enforcement agency where you reside.
• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission and/or the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
• Speak to AARP’s Fraud Watch Helpline and find Fraud Victim Support Groups (all ages accepted)
• Request a free credit report and research identity theft prevention through AnnualCreditReport.com.