DON’T BE SCAMMED!!!
On June 5th, I received a text that purported to be a warning that I had to immediately pay for an “outstanding ticket”. “This has got to be a scam,” I said to myself. And, as you’ll see in a moment, I was 100% right.
The first thing that tipped me off came even before I opened the text. The sender was arnaldoz.x.braylonpr@fang06-xa.cm (I intentionally masked the “.com” so you couldn’t click on it.) I mean, is this the e-mail address of a Louisiana state government office? No way! And texts don’t come from e-mail addresses; they come from phone numbers!
The second tip-off came in the very first sentence of the text: “Louisiana Department of Vehicles [sic] Final Notice.” First of all, the word “Motor” was omitted. And second of all, Louisiana doesn’t have a DEPARTMENT of Motor Vehicles; we have an OFFICE of Motor Vehicles.
The third slip-up I caught came when I read: “Our records show that as of today, you still have an outstanding traffic ticket.” I don’t. In fact, I’ve never had a parking ticket in my life!
And finally came this: “In accordance with New South Louisiana Administrative Code 15C-16.003…” There are so many things wrong with this statement, but I’ll just say that there is no such thing as Administrative Code 15C-16.003. I know, because I looked it up.
I had to chuckle at the ineptitude of this scammer.
Well, two weeks later, my suspicion was confirmed. I received an e-mail from LA Wallet (the digital driver’s license people) warning me of this scam. To see the actual announcement, go to https://support.lawallet.com/hc/en-us/articles/38172040765460-Louisiana-OMV-Text-Scam-May-2025
When you read the announcement, be sure to scroll down and read the actual scam text.
So there you have it. If you get a suspicious text DON’T CLICK ON THE LINK IN THE TEXT! Be smart. Be safe.