Scammers Are Pretending To Be The Department of Transportation
As we head into the end of the year, be on the lookout for scams. There have been several reports of new phone scams going around. Then of course there are the email scams.Now, there are even scams and hackers using Zoom and Teams.
This week I have received two strange invites for meetings on Microsoft Teams. Without accepting the invitation, or attending the meeting, I've noticed that the guest list is always only 3 to 4 people. None of them are people I recognize.
One of those meetings was regarding health insurance policies. Today, it was about car detailing. That's the only info that was given about the meetings, and it was in the subject line. Since I didn't attend either meeting, I'm not exactly sure what happens when you do.
The other weird thing is that the invite comes in about 5 minutes before the meeting is supposed to start. Then, when the meeting is supposed to start, it's canceled.
Earlier today, before the weird Teams meeting invite, I received an email claiming that I had been photographed speeding through a red light. The email claimed it was from the Department of Transportation.
That was the first weird thing. Texas, Amarillo, Randall or Potter county; none of those were mentioned. It was just the generic all-encompassing "Department of Transportation."
The second weird thing is that I'm currently driving my wife's car. So wouldn't this email go to her?
To be sure this was a scam, I decided to check the URL that the links went to. If you hover your pointer over a link, a bar in the lower left corner of your screen will show you where that link will take you.
The links wouldn't take me to any website that had anything to do with a Department of Transportation.
When it comes to matters related to government or law enforcement, know that they will never email you. They have more official ways of handling any business they may have with you.
Be smart, stay safe, and protect your info.