Fake DMV and state-tax texts almost always use generic branding — "STATE DMV" or "State Tax Dept" — because the scammer sending thousands of messages at once has no idea which state you're actually in, let alone what your state's real agency is called. That mismatch is one of the fastest ways to catch a fake. Here's the real agency name and income-tax status for 12 states, so you can check in one look.
Why this trick works
Most people don't know the exact legal name of their state's driver-licensing office, and mass-texting scammers can't personalize the agency name to your actual state without knowing where you live. So they use the generic "DMV" or "state tax" label and hope it sounds close enough. Knowing your state's real name — and whether your state even has an income tax — turns a vague scary text into an obvious fake.
12-state cheat sheet
Agency names and tax rules can change — this is a quick sanity check, not a substitute for your state's official .gov site.
- California — really is called the DMV has income tax (Franchise Tax Board)
- Texas — TxDMV (vehicles) / Texas DPS (licenses) no state income tax
- Florida — Dept. of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), not "DMV" no state income tax
- New York — really is called the DMV has income tax
- Pennsylvania — PennDOT, not "DMV" has income tax
- Illinois — Secretary of State's office handles licenses, not "DMV" has income tax
- Ohio — BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles), not "DMV" has income tax
- Georgia — DDS (Dept. of Driver Services), not "DMV" has income tax
- North Carolina — NCDMV, really is called DMV has income tax
- Michigan — Dept. of State (Secretary of State branches), not "DMV" has income tax
- New Jersey — MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission), not "DMV" has income tax
- Washington — DOL (Dept. of Licensing), not "DMV" no state income tax
The fastest tell: no-income-tax states
Texas, Florida, and Washington are three of nine U.S. states with no personal state income tax (the others are Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Alaska). If you live in any of these and get a text demanding "state income tax," you can stop reading right there — it's fake. See the Texas state tax scam page for the full breakdown.
What to do with any state DMV or tax text
- Don't tap the link or call the number in the message
- Check your state's real agency name against the list above
- Go to your state's official .gov site yourself — never through a texted link
- Paste the message into ScamCheck for a free risk score
- If the sender is only 5–6 digits, check the short code; the sender digits alone do not prove a state agency sent it
- If you already paid, contact your bank the same day
FAQ
- My state's real agency does use "DMV" — so is the text automatically real? No. California and New York genuinely call it the DMV, so you need the other signs too: a link that isn't the official .gov domain, a short deadline, and threats mixing unrelated agencies (like DMV plus income tax in one message).
- What if I'm not sure what my state calls it? Search "[your state] official DMV site" or "[your state] department of revenue" yourself and bookmark the real .gov result — don't trust a link from a text either way.
- Does this apply to phone calls too? Yes. Robocalls and live callers use the same generic branding. The same checks apply.