I received this text message which while it has my vehicle information correct it is obvious it was a scam because my registration expired a month ago and I already renewed it online Your 2017 MERZ registration expires in 10 days. Renew now on TxT: txt.texas.gov/renew-vehicle Opt out of texts in TxT settings.

March 4, 2025

Asked for SSN for car registration. Closed page, hope they didn’t capture info.

February 27, 2025

Received text msg with link to: txt.texas.gov/renew-vehicle Warning that my vehicle registration is expiring in 3 months and I can click on the link to easily renew the registration online....the sender indeed knows the year & make of my vehicle but if it was in fact the state of Texas then they'd in fact know that my vehicle registration already expired the end of January 2024 and there is no option to renew vehicle registration automatically online once expired beyond 12 months (1yr) days and no sooner than 90 days prior to the expiration date on current vehicle registrations..... according my research on the subject viaTexas DMV website just completed moments ago. I didn't click the link and have no intention of doing so because I realize it could be malicious and isn't worth the risk.

November 5, 2024

Received as Text advising to renew auto license, not too long after legitimately renewing via the real TxT app.

June 2, 2024

Fake medical or vehicle accident compensation, diabetes insulin, home warranty, solar energy, or debt relief scam by Puta'ng Ina Ka criminals phoning from the Philippines. This is a massive widespread scam by criminals calling from the Philippines that pretends to offer legal help, financial compensation, and class action lawsuit settlements if you were previously injured or affected by a motor vehicle accident, medical procedure, medication or chemical, food item, defective product, retail or restaurant service, or other causes of personal injury. But these scammers are really trying to steal your credit card number, banking information, Medicare and Social Security numbers, your health history and health insurance data, and personal information for identity theft under the pretense of saying that they will help you obtain compensation because they are a (fake) doctor, law firm, or government office. This call may either begin with a recording or you may immediately talk to the scammer. The recording or scammer falsely says that you are specifically being contacted due to a previous medical survey or hospital visit, but these are not personal calls being made to any specific group of people. The Filipino scammer may ask for you by your name to sound like a personal phone call to gain your trust, but they are randomly auto-dialing everyone. Scammers use huge phone database listings of millions of names with phone numbers and addresses to have the autodialer display the name that is currently dialed. This call center runs four similar scams - this fake medical or motor vehicle accident compensation scam, a fake diabetes insulin supply scam, a fake home warranty scam, and a fake debt relief scam - to steal your financial and personal information! The recordings used in all these scams falsely say that you opted into this robo-call from a previous survey or communication that you (falsely) participated in. This scammer only gives vague evasive answers if you ask for specific details about why they are calling, and how and when they knew that you had been involved in the personal injury since these scammers are randomly robo-dialing everyone. Scams like this go by a rehearsed script and you can quickly expose their fraud by asking for details that they should know. This scammer also gives a fake do-not-call option. About 55% of North America scam calls come from India and 40% come from the Philippines. India scammers run hundreds of fraud, extortion, and money laundering scams every day such as posing as a fake pharmacy, fake Social Security officer saying your benefits are suspended, IRS officer collecting on fake unpaid back taxes, debt collector threatening you for fake unpaid bills, fake bank/financial/FedEx/UPS/DHL scams, pretending to offer fake health insurance, car warranty, student loan forgiveness, credit card and debt consolidation services, posing as Amazon to falsely say an unauthorized purchase was made to your credit card or your Prime membership was auto-debited from your bank, posing as Microsoft/Dell/HP/Apple to say your account has been hacked or they detected a virus on your computer, fake "we are refunding your money" or "your account has been auto-debited" scams, fake Google/Alexa listing scams, posing as electric utilities, Verizon, AT&T, or Comcast, fake solar panel and home purchase offers, fake fundraisers asking for donations, fake phone surveys, and the scammers try to steal your credit card, bank account/routing number, Social Security number, and personal information. India scammers often rotate through fake Social Security, subscription auto-renewal, pharmacy, and pre-approved loan scams on the same day. Philippines scammers run more auto/home/health/life insurance, Social Security and Medicare identity theft, and fake charity donation scams. Scammers use disposable VoIP phone numbers (e.g. MagicJack devices) or they spoof fake names and numbers on Caller ID. Anyone can use telecom software to phone with a fake CID name and number. Scammers spoof thousands of fake 8xx toll-free numbers. CID is useless with scam calls unless the scam asks you to phone them back. CID area codes are never the origin of scam calls since scams use spoofed CID numbers from across the US and Canada, numbers belonging to unsuspecting people, invalid area codes, and fake foreign country CID numbers; e.g. fake women crying "help me" emergency scams often spoof Mexico and Middle East CID numbers. Scammers often spoof the actual phone numbers of businesses such as Apple, Verizon, and banks to trick you into thinking the call is valid. How can you avoid being scammed by phone calls? NEVER trust any unsolicited caller who: sells something (most unsolicited calls are scams so your odds of saving money are very poor); asks for your Social Security number; offers a free gift or reward; threatens you with arrest/lawsuit or says you need to reply back soon (pressure tactic); asks you to access a website, download a file, wire transfer money or buy prepaid debit/gift cards; claims suspicious activity on your account; says your subscription is being refunded or auto-renewed/auto-debited; and all pre-recorded messages. Recordings are far more likely to be malicious scams and not just telemarketer spam. All unsolicited callers with foreign accents, usually Indian or Filipino, are usually scams. Filipino scammers tend to speak better English than Indian scammers. Filipinos speak English with a subtle accent having a slight trill. Scams often say that you inquired about a job, insurance, social security benefits, or that you previously contacted them or visited their website. A common India scam plays a fake Amazon recording. Amazon account updates are emailed, not robo-dialed. Many banks use automated fraud alert calls to confirm a suspicious purchase, but verify the number that the recording tells you to phone or just call the number printed on your credit card. India scammers impersonate AT&T DirecTV, Comcast, or a cable/Internet company, offering fake discounts or service upgrades. Indians impersonate the IRS and Social Security Administration. The IRS/SSA never make unsolicited calls and never threaten to arrest you; they initiate contact via postal mail. Real lawsuits are not phoned in, especially not using pre-recorded threats lacking details; legal notices are mailed/couriered. The police, FBI, DEA never phone to threaten arrest; they show up in person with a warrant. Scammers try to gain your trust by saying your name when they call, but their autodialer automatically displays your name or says your name in a recording when your number is dialed using phone databases that list millions of names and addresses. Scammers often call using an initial recording speaking English, Spanish, or Chinese that is easily generated using text-to-speech translation software to disguise the origin of their overseas phone room. Some speech synthesis software sound robotic, but others sound natural. To hide their foreign accents, some India scammers use non-Indians in their phone room. Scammers often use interactive voice response (IVR) robotic software that combines voice recognition with artificial intelligence, speaks English with American voices, and responds based on your replies. IVR calls begin with: "Hi, this is fake_name, I am a fake_job_title on a recorded line, can you hear me okay?"; or "Hi, this is fake_name, how are you doing today?"; or "Hello? (pause) Are you there?"; or "Hi, may I speak to your_name?" IVR quickly asks you a short question to elicit a yes/no reply so it hangs up if it encounters voicemail. IVR robots understand basic replies and yes/no answers. To test for IVR, ask "How is the weather over there?" since IVR cannot answer complex questions and it keeps talking if you interrupt it in mid-sentence. IVR usually transfers you to the scammer, but some scams entirely use IVR with the robot asking for your credit card or SSN. A common myth is IVR calls record you saying "yes" so scammers can authorize purchases just using your "yes" voice, but scammers need more than just a recorded "yes" from you - credit cards and SSN. Phone/email scams share two common traits: the CID name/number and the "From:" header on emails are easily faked, and the intent of scam calls is malicious just as file attachments and website links on scam emails are harmful. Scams snowball for many victims. If your personal/financial data are stolen, either by being scammed, visiting a malicious website, or by a previous data breach of a business server that stores your data, then your data gets sold by scammers on the dark web who will see you as fresh meat and prey on you even more. This is why some receive 40+ scam calls everyday while others get 0 to 2 calls per day. If you provide your personal information to a phone scammer, lured by fake 80%-discounted drugs or scared by fake IRS officers, you receive even more phone scams and identity theft can take years to repair. Most unsolicited calls are scams, often with an Indian accent. No other country is infested with pandemics of phone room sweatshops filled with criminals who belong to the lowest India caste and many are thieves and rapists who were serving jail time but released early due to prison overcrowding. Scammers often shout profanities at you. Just laugh at their abusive language. Google "Hindi swear words" and memorize some favorites, e.g. call him "Rundi Ka Bacha" (son of whore) or call her "Rundi Ki Bachi" (daughter of whore). Scammers ignore the National Do-Not-Call Registry; asking scammers to stop calling is useless. You do these scammers a favor by quickly hanging up. But you ruin their scams when you slowly drag them along on the phone call, give them fake personal and credit card data (16 random digits starting with 4 for Visa, 5 for MasterCard), ask them to speak louder and repeat what they said to waste their time and energy.

October 17, 2022