IDOT, SOS Alerts Public to Series of Phishing Scams

By Benjamin Cox on June 24, 2021 at 9:46am

The Illinois Department of Transportation is reminding the public to be on the alert for text and email scams asking for personal information. Over the last several weeks, IDOT has been made aware of messages sent fraudulently on its behalf attempting to phish people’s personal information.

IDOT Spokesperson Maria Castaneda says if you get one of the messages to delete it immediately: “We would never ask for personal information, and specifically, we would never ask for your social security number or any kind of personal information via a text or an email. We are recommending that if you do receive a text or email that appears to be from us, to delete it. Please don’t click on any links because that could put malware on your computer or device and it’s best just to immediately delete it.”

Similar messages have also been circulating looking to come from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office.

If you have questions about phishing scams or identity theft, please call the Illinois Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline in Springfield at 1-800-243-0618.