Big Island Residents Warned About Fraudulent DMV Text Message Scam

Residents in Hilo and Kona reported receiving fraudulent text messages this week purporting to be from a "Hawaiʻi Department of Motor Vehicles" and demanding immediate action, prompting warnings from local law enforcement and state agencies between March 11 and 13.

The scam has a telling flaw at its core: there is no "Hawaiʻi Department of Motor Vehicles." The state does not operate a DMV, making the agency name itself a clear signal that the messages are fraudulent. Officials used that fact as the centerpiece of their public warnings, urging anyone who received such a text to disregard it entirely.

The alerts spread across the Big Island after residents on both sides of the island reported receiving the messages. With reports coming from communities as geographically distinct as Hilo on the windward coast and Kona on the leeward side, the scam appears to have cast a wide net across Hawaiʻi County.

The tactic of demanding "immediate action" is a hallmark of phishing and smishing schemes, designed to pressure recipients into clicking links or providing personal information before they have time to verify the source. The invented agency name, however, gives residents a straightforward way to identify the fraud without needing to investigate further.

Anyone who received one of these messages should avoid clicking any links, refrain from providing personal or financial information, and report the message to local law enforcement.