LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — You may have opened a text or got a call from a random number lately claiming you have an unpaid bill or that immediate action needs to be taken.
That might be what's called an impostor scam, and it's something the Federal Trade Commission says continues to be a common way bad actors are trying to swindle you.
WATCH | Sophisticated scammers are posing as government agencies, like the Nevada DMV
"We’re never going to text you out of the blue and just say hey, did you know that you have toll fees? We don’t have toll roads in Nevada," explained Hailey Foster of the Nevada DMV.
She said, if you have an appointment and get a text right away confirming it, that's likely a legit text.
When you actually do have something that requires action, you’ll get emails, letters sent to you," said Foster.
But there's a lot of people out there making it look real.
"They’ll make it as official looking as possible," said Nicholas Haley of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.
His advice? "Slow down, take a deep breath, get information from them, and respond based upon what they mail to you, what you can spend time looking at, and what you can investigate before you give them any kind of information or money."
So far, valley resident Cynthia Ruiz-Boaz told Channel 13 she hasn't given in and let the scammers calling her win. She said they call her every Friday.
This isn't the only scam circulating in the valley lately. We told you on Thursday about the Nevada State Police's warning of a text message scam falsely claiming to be from the "State of Nevada, Department of Safety and Homeland Security."
Crime
Nevada State Police warn of new text message scam circulating
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