Officials with law enforcement and the Iowa Department of Transportation are warning Iowans about a new scam making the rounds through e-mail. The Creston Police Department posted Monday on its social media page that they have received information that an e-mail which appears to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles warns that you “Owe a fine for a traffic violation.” The e-mail contains links that you can click on to “pay” the fine.

Authorities warn that the City of Creston does NOT conduct traffic citations in that manner, and it is a scam. They advise you should “Block the sender and delete the email.”

Example of a Fake Ticket via e-mail

The Iowa DOT went one step-further, and explained how you can tell the difference between a real citation and a fake one: A real citation would not come from an entity called “The Department of Motor Vehicles“; All Iowa traffic fines would be paid though your local county Courthouse, not by an e-mail link; The Iowa court system does not use “EasyPay“, which the DOT has no knowledge of); and you should always check the email address of the sender…it should indicate the county or state. Not just “City.”

If you have questions or think you have been scammed, please contact local law enforcement right way.