Idaho Transportation Department Warns Residents: DMV Scam Texts Targeting Idahoans

A wave of fraudulent text messages impersonating the Idaho Division of Motor Vehicles has reached Kootenai County, prompting the Idaho Transportation Department to issue a statewide advisory on March 10 and the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office to alert residents after multiple people reported receiving the texts.

The messages take two forms: a claim that a vehicle registration is overdue, or a demand for immediate payment of a traffic citation. One example captured by the Sheriff's Office reads in part, "Final Notice: Enforcement Penalties Begin on (a specific date)... If payment is not received, your registration and license will be suspended, and you may be prosecuted." Each message includes a link to a fake payment site designed to harvest personal and financial information.

"Scammers are targeting Idahoans with messages that look official but are completely fake," said DMV Administrator Lisa McClellan. "If the link does not have a dot gov address, it's a scam." Neither ITD's main site nor the DMV can be reached through domains ending in ".icu" or ".com." The official addresses are itd.idaho.gov for ITD and dmvonline.itd.idaho.gov for the DMV; the ITD advisory also directs residents to dmv.idaho.gov for accurate information.

Sheriff Robert Norris confirmed his office has received multiple complaints from county residents and pushed back firmly on the scam's tactics. "Scammers are becoming more sophisticated in how they target victims," he said. "We urge residents to be cautious, especially when receiving messages that use fear or urgency to demand payment. If you ever have a question about a violation, call us or the DMV directly — never trust a link sent out of the blue."

The Sheriff's Office was explicit on one point: neither the DMV nor the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office sends traffic violation notices via unsolicited text messages, nor do they demand payment with threats of license suspension or legal action. ITD has previously stated the same, noting the department does not send texts related to unpaid traffic tickets or fines.

Anyone who receives one of these messages should not click the link, not provide any personal or payment information, report the message to their mobile carrier, and then delete it. If there is any genuine concern about a vehicle registration, type the official address directly into a browser rather than following any link received by text. Those who believe they already clicked through and entered information should monitor their bank accounts and credit closely and report the fraud to local law enforcement.

This is not the first time Idaho has seen this type of scam; fraudulent DMV texts have circulated in multiple states in recent years, but the current campaign is generating active complaints from Kootenai County residents and prompted the coordinated response from both ITD in Boise and the Sheriff's Office in Coeur d'Alene.