The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is warning residents to beware of e-mail fraud that appears to come from the agency. The fraudsters are using the department’s name and e-mail address to send a type of spam known as phishing.
If you’ve received an e-mail from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, using an address like DoNotReply@flhsmv.gov, and you haven’t made an online transaction, it’s most likely a scam. Department spokeswoman Courtney Heidelberg says if recipients have opened the message, they should make sure not to click on any of the links in the e-mail because they could contain a virus.
“If you’ve have clicked on the links, then you should change all your passwords, particularly on your financial institution or banking sites. Because it looks like this particular phishing spam is trying to capture banking information,” said Heidelberg.
Heidelberg says so far, the department has received thousands of calls from people all over the state, around the country, and even some parts of the world about the fraudulent e-mail that looks like a receipt.
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