Court warns Hidalgo County residents about fake court text scam

A text message that demands payment for an overdue traffic violation is not a court notice. The Sixth Judicial District Court warned June 4 that fake messages were circulating in Luna County and could also reach Hidalgo and Grant counties, using threats of arrest, driver’s license suspension, vehicle impoundment, wage garnishment and asset seizure to scare people into clicking a link and acting fast.

Chief Judge Jarod Hofacket said the Sixth Judicial District Court and the magistrate courts in Luna, Grant and Hidalgo counties will never ask for payment or threaten legal action by text. That warning matters in Hidalgo County, where a message about a license or a tow can trigger immediate panic for people who rely on a vehicle to get to work, school, the grocery store or medical appointments across the bootheel.

The scams are built to look official. The federal U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico said similar texts began arriving Monday, June 1, often from numbers beginning with 212. Those messages may name an issuing officer, assigned judge or clerk of court, include a fake case number and push recipients toward a link promising immediate steps. The Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque issued a similar warning June 2, showing the tactic was spreading across New Mexico, not limited to one courthouse or one county.

The safest response is simple: do not click the link, do not send money, and delete the message. If you believe you actually have a court obligation, contact the court directly through its official website for phone numbers and office information. New Mexico Courts says state courts will never contact people by telephone, email or bonding companies to announce warrants, and it tells residents to verify suspicious contact through the NMCourts Case Lookup tool or by calling court customer service at 855-268-7804.

The Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office describes the district as a tri-county region of Grant, Hidalgo and Luna counties stretching across 140 miles of the United States-Mexico border. In a rural area where residents may have limited broadband and longer drives to verify a message in person, the warning is a reminder that court-impersonation scams are designed to exploit urgency, fear and isolation.