The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is warning consumers to beware of a new attempt to steal their personal information. The latest phishing scam involves text messages falsely claiming New York state is offering consumers $1,500 rebates as a result of high gas prices.

Upon clicking on the link contained in the text message, potential victims are taken to a webpage designed to look like the DMV website, and they are asked to submit personal information.

To help protect against these phishing or smishing (SMS phishing) scams, the New York State Office of Information Technology Services recommends the following precautions:

• Be cautious about all communications, including those that purport to be from “trusted entities.” Be careful when clicking any links contained within those messages. If in doubt, do not click.
• Do not send personal information via text or email. Legitimate businesses will not ask users to send sensitive personal information through text or email.
• Keep an eye out for telltale signs: poor spelling or grammar, the use of threats, or the URL does not match that of the legitimate site.
• Be wary of how much information you post online. The less information you post, the less data you make available to a cybercriminal for use in developing a potential attack or scam.

Additional information on phishing scams can be accessed on the DMV website, and examples of the scam DMV text messages can be found here.