Jun 24, 2025
When you're caught speeding, driving recklessly, running a red light or doing something else that violates traffic laws, there are hefty fines involved.
Typically, a police officer hands you a ticket on the spot or you get a notice in the mail. One way your citation won’t be delivered? Via text message.
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Unfortunately, con artists are taking advantage of people who don’t know that.
In Alameda County, California, numerous residents have been getting texts telling them they owe money on unpaid fines from traffic citations. It’s all a scam.
"There is so much fraud that a lot of people cannot distinguish fraud from reality," Sandi Bethune, an Oakland resident, told ABC News.
A new traffic citation scam is on the rise
Thankfully Oakland resident Moises Salazar didn’t fall for the text he got citing a traffic violation.
“I read it and I understood it was fake,” he said.
But he is among the growing number of citizens reporting the issue to Alameda County Court, which has since issued a public service announcement about the problem:
"... the Court does not contact the public through text messages to make payments for traffic citations. The public is cautioned not to provide financial or personal information if contacted via text or a phone call. The Court does not seek this information through texts or phone calls."
It added that anyone concerned about a traffic citation should first visit the court's website to confirm they owe money. They can do this by clicking on "Pay Your Traffic Ticket."
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From there, residents can input their name and driver's license number to see if there are any outstanding fines. It’s a good safety measure with the growth in such scams.
"We don't want people to get duped into giving out information that can lead to identity theft," Rosynsky told ABC News.
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How to avoid a traffic ticket scam
Unfortunately, these scams are not limited to Alameda County — they’re happening across the country. (Another popular one? The fake unpaid toll violation.)
Never pay a “delinquent” traffic ticket, parking ticket, or toll without verifying it first. Be especially suspicious if you’re asked to pay your fine by wire transfer or another unconventional method.
Here are some more tips to protect yourself and others from such scams:
Beware of any text citing a traffic violation or unpaid toll. Tip-offs that the texts are fake:
- The violation is dubious — for example, it says you owe money for parking illegally on Whitehead Street, but you've never been to Whitehead Street.
- The text comes from an international number or may have been sent to multiple numbers at once.
- The message says ‘dear customer’ or ‘dear resident’ and doesn’t use your actual name.
If you receive a text of this nature, contact your local county court for more information, or to at least report the scam. You can also try contacting your local Department of Motor Vehicles.
You can also report the scam to the U.S. Department of Transportation at (800) 424-9071 or hotline@oig.dot.gov. The Internet Crime Complaint Center is another place you can report scams of this nature.
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Maurie Backman has been writing professionally for well over a decade. Since becoming a full-time writer, she's produced thousands of articles on topics ranging from Social Security to investing to real estate.
