Smith County scam alert

SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Office in Troup said they are receiving calls from concerned citizens about a scam text. According to a social media post on the county’s Facebook page, the fraudulent text appears to be from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) and claims the person has an outstanding ticket. The text reportedly threatens that if the person does not click a link to pay a fine, their vehicle registration and driving privileges will be suspended. The victims are calling the JP 3 Office, which offers auto-registration services.

Officials remind the public that neither Smith County nor the State of Texas’ DMV would ever text anyone about a ticket or demand payment. Do not click on any link, and immediately delete the text. If you ever question whether a text, call or email is legitimate, it’s probably is not. Always call the department or organization it appears to be coming from directly.