Photo courtesy of backsouthern.com

MIAMI – The Miami-Dade County Office of the Tax Collector is warning residents about a text scam that steals your information and money.

The fake tests claimed to be from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DMV) and individuals have unpaid tolls and need to make immediate payments.

But Miami-Dade officials said the texts are part of scam threatening license suspension, legal action and points against your credit rating.

The messages “have been sent en masse… threatening license suspension, legal action, and credit damage if immediate payment is not made through a deceptive link,” the office of Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez said in a statement.

The texts include a fake web address “that closely mimics the official FLHSMV domain in an effort to mislead residents into complying,” the statement continues.

If you think you’ve received a phishing scam, authorities urge you to:

1. NOT click the link. It may compromise your personal and financial information. Mark the message as spam and delete it immediately.
2. NOT confuse this with a legitimate traffic or parking citation.
3. Remember that FLHSMV will never attempt to collect any fees via text.