RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond's Commonwealth's Attorney is warning residents about a scam text message circulating that includes a fake court letter demanding payment for a parking or toll violation.
The letter, signed "John Smith, Clerk of the Court," claims the recipient has made a "Parking Violation / Failure to Pay Electronic Toll" and must either appear in court by 9 a.m. Tuesday or pay a fine before the hearing date. A QR code at the bottom of the letter reads "scan the QR code to settle your unpaid balance."
Commonwealth's Attorney Colette McEachin said the letter is a scam and not how the court conducts business.
She pointed to several signs that the traffic violation notice is fake, including that both the judge and the clerk are listed as "John Smith," case numbers are not set up correctly, and the hearing date is set for the following day in order to pressure people into paying immediately. McEachin also noted that the General District Court clerk's office does not send texts regarding court dates.
McEachin said the clerk's office received over 200 calls within four hours Monday from concerned citizens.
Residents react
When a text message appeared on Greg Salazar's phone claiming he had violated a toll and was being summoned to Richmond's General District Court, his first reaction was alarm.
"I got scared for a minute wondering, what did I do now?" Salazar said.
Ivan Foster received the same text.
"It was a court order to appear in court and to do it immediately which was going to be tomorrow. But the court order didn't have my name or anything on it," Foster said.
The Richmond Police Department has also issued a warning about the scam. Police say the messages appear legitimate at first but are urging recipients not to respond, click links, or scan QR codes included in the texts.
Part of what makes this scam particularly convincing is timing. Some residents told CBS 6 they were deceived because of the new electronic toll system recently put in place by the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The new system sends electronic billing notices to cars and trucks without an EZ Pass, making a text about an unpaid toll seem more plausible.
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While many residents say they are well aware of such scams, others were caught off guard. David Young said he has received at least a dozen similar messages over the past six months.
"Scammers are really stepping up their game lately but you have to always, always go by the numbers on your cards or on your EZ Pass. You always have those numbers, don't ever call the number on the text," Young said.
For those who have already fallen victim to the scam by providing credit card or personal information, police are urging them to contact authorities immediately. For everyone else, the advice is simple: delete the message and report it as spam.
For some residents, the scam texts have simply become an unwelcome routine.
"So, I'll probably get another one tomorrow," Young said with a laugh. "You're used to it by now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just a new way of life."
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