TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Highway Patrol is warning drivers of a scam involving fraudulent traffic citations.
In a news release sent Tuesday night, the agency said a company representing itself as the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles -- or DHSMV -- demands payment for "citations."
According to the agency, the scam goes like this: Drivers receive emails requesting payment of a citation within a certain time frame. If the payment isn't received on time, the company will demand a daily late fee and suspend that driver's license. The email includes a linked payment page and email address.
"There would never be a three-day period. You have 30 days. You have an option to contest a ticket. You have other options," FHP Sgt. Kim Montes said.
The news release said that the highway safety agency and the clerk of courts do not email citation to customers or require payment via email.
"We're obviously looking at the website. When we click on the website, sometimes it's up, sometimes it's down," Montes said.
So far, the two people reported receiving the email are from Peru and Germany who had recently visited Florida. The two people did not pay the money and instead contacted the state agency.
"Whether they stayed at the same hotel, whether they rented a car, what their connection is and then that's obviously where we'll start looking to see who sent those emails," Montes said.
Anyone receiving such an email should contact either agency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
