There’s A New Sketchy Text Scam Mainers Need to Watch Out For

There's just always someone trying to steal your money.

We've been down this road a bunch the last few years. Text scams. phone scams, email scams.... you name it, we've seen them all at this point. Luckily, Mainers are pretty good about getting the word out on these sorts of things. But sadly, you still occasionally read about people who've been taken to the cleaners by scammers.

One of my best friends, her mom was taken by phone scammers for almost $25,000 in gift cards. She's an elderly woman who was easily targeted, and the money will never be recovered. Scammers know just how to get the job done without leaving any trace of themselves behind.

This new one is a text scam, claiming to be from the "Maine DMV".

Fox ABC Maine says that Secretary of State Shanna Bellows warned folks that these texts are going out to folks, trying to hook them up with some kind of refund check. Refund for what? Hard to say, but the real point is, don't respond to any text like this. They could be trying to steal money, or install malware on your phone, or anything else.

Not to mention, the DMV here in Maine is never going to get in touch with you about a refund by text message. That'd just be awkward. Agencies like that will always send a proper letter.

It's sad that there's people out there who just want to screw people out of what's theirs. Especially around the holidays, in the middle of a pandemic, no less. There's a special place in hell for people like that. But just keep protecting yourself and doing what you gotta do to stay safe. Good luck, more than ever.