BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) – Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) are alerting residents about another text message scam that aims to steal personal information and charge unnecessary fees.

Officials said "many" Louisiana residents have received text messages claiming the recipient has an “outstanding traffic ticket” and must pay a fee or face repercussions. These messages are fraudulent, officials said. The OMV advises all recipients to ignore and delete these messages immediately.

The Louisiana OMV offers the following tips to help residents avoid scams:

• DO NOT click on links in an unsolicited message from an unverified source
• DO NOT respond or send your personal information via text
• Delete all suspicious texts and emails, and report them to reportfraud.ftc.gov
• Exercise caution with all communications you receive from anonymous sources
• Confirm the message was generated from a legitimate source
• Keep an eye out for signs of scams (rewards, vague URLs, incorrect grammar)

The Louisiana OMV does not send text messages or emails threatening prosecution for traffic or fee violations. To process legitimate online services safely and securely, Louisiana residents can visit the official OMV website at expresslane.org.

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