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Maryland’s Department of Transportation has an important message: They didn’t text you.
The agency said in a Thursday press release that it “is aware of fraudulent text messages that were sent to some customers posing as MDOT, MVA, or MTA.”
“These text messages linked to a fraudulent website, which requested personal information, including Social Security numbers and driver’s license details,” the release added. “MDOT worked to get the fraudulent sites taken down and they are no longer accessible.”
A spokesperson for the state DOT said the so-called “smishing” — SMS text phishing — did not compromise the agency’s security, and emphasized that officials would never solicit personal information via text message.
Dozens of residents have reached out to the department and have reported the different phone numbers sending the messages. The agency suspects many others have been targeted.
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Daniel Zawodny covers transportation for the The Baltimore Banner as a corps member with Report For America. He is a Baltimore area native and graduated with his master's degree in journalism from American University in 2021. He is bilingual in English and Spanish and previously covered immigration issues.
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