(WASHINGTON, DC) – Residents of the Washington, DC Metropolitan area are cautioned to be aware of a phishing scam to collect money from past due tickets. With this scam, customers receive an email that has “Notice of Overdue Parking Violation(s)” in the subject line. In the email, customers are asked to pay the past due fines and a late fee immediately with the threat of their vehicle being impounded; then, they are directed to a dot com website.

DC DMV contacts customers via email if they have registered for DC DMV’s email ticket alert system. Then, they will receive an email notifying them to log into their account when there is an update. 

Additionally, legitimate Notices of Unpaid Parking Tickets from the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles are mailed to customers via the United States Post Office. The notice contains specific information on how to contest the ticket by submitting a request for adjudication and includes the agency’s website address, which is dmv.dc.gov. Also, customers are encouraged to carefully read the letter for other clues that it is a scam. For example, the scam letter is supposedly issued by the “DC Parking Authority.” There are more than 30 agencies that issues tickets, and there is not an established “DC Parking Authority.” Correspondences issued from DC DMV will not be signed, “Y.U. Parcthar,” and they do not have the tag line, “WeTicket, You Pay,” as DC DMV does not issue tickets.

Customers who receive this email notice should report it to the Federal Trade Commission, which has detailed information for consumers on how to handle phishing scams.

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The District Department of Motor Vehicles promotes public safety to ensure the safe operation of motor vehicles. For more information, visit http://dmv.dc.gov. Like DC DMV on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.