The King County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of a significant increase in “smishing” scams, where fraudsters use text messages to steal money and personal information.
The trend mirrors a rise in similar scam phone calls seen throughout the region.
Smishing involves scammers sending SMS messages that often impersonate government agencies to demand immediate payment for fake violations.
Sergeant Michael Glasgow of the King County Sheriff’s Office is tracking the surge in these fraudulent messages. He noted that many of these texts claim the recipient owes money for specific state-related fees or violations. “The unfortunate one that we’re investigating still coming out of the White Center area was almost two million dollars in loss,” Glasgow said.
He identified common scam topics as “your tolls need to be paid, traffic tickets like the red-light cameras, speeding ticket cameras, your vehicle registration.”
Officials say a primary indicator of a scam is the use of high-pressure or frightening language.
Glasgow emphasized that legitimate communication from state agencies do not use these methods to elicit payment. “If there’s any fear, that’s a scam,” Glasgow said. “Nobody in Washington state, Wash. state’s government is going to send a text that’s going to have fear involved.”
Scam texts often include glaring errors in their messages. In one scam going around now, the name “Kinperior” instead of King County Superior Court is used, as well as many other inaccuracies.
Glasgow also warns against scanning QR codes, or clicking links. He says the links can grant a scammer access to a user’s phone or computer. The scams frequently target elderly residents and those who speak English as a second language.
Glasgow noted that technology makes these criminals difficult to apprehend because “it’s probably a computer-generated number over the internet,” Glasgow said. “More than likely not even within the United States of America and so tracking those is apps almost impossible.”
One common scam involves messages claiming to be from the Washington DMV. However, the state agency responsible for vehicle registration is the Department of Licensing, known as the DOL. Any message referencing the DMV in Washington is an immediate red flag for fraud.
Residents who receive a suspicious text are advised to remain calm and call the purported agency directly to verify any claims.