Many Alaskans were recently spammed with texts that appeared to have been sent from the Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles. The messages warned of impending penalties for alleged violations and looked, at first glance, like official notifications.
But a closer look revealed that these were just another example of the phishing attacks that have become increasingly common nationwide.
In a statement, the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities warned that these scams are getting more sophisticated and aggressive.
“Scammers are constantly adapting their tactics,” the DOT&PF said. The agency also encouraged Alaskans “to remain skeptical of any unsolicited text messages involving money, especially those appearing to come from government agencies.”
These messages often include links or request an immediate reply, which can funnel victims into surrendering personal information. Recipients, in this case, were threatened with what appeared to be imminent fines for speeding violations.
“ALASKA Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Final Notices: Enforcement Penalties Begin on June 20. Our records show that as of today, you have an outstanding traffic ticket,” the texts read. To add a layer of officialdom, the messages referenced a non-existent section of “Alaska Administrative Code.”
According to sources, phishing scams rose globally by nearly 60 percent from 2022 to 2023. That explosion has been fueled by the proliferation of artificial intelligence, which provides scammers with new methods of targeting victims, like voice phishing and deepfake phishing.
AI tools now allow people to clone the voices of politicians, celebrities, loved ones—or even your own—and use them to confuse and deceive their targets.
Major data breaches have also contributed to the growth of these attacks and their enhanced threat profile.
Earlier this year, it came to light that a dataset containing 16 billion user credentials had been circulating online. The massive tranche consisted of both previously leaked and newly compromised login information, which has enabled even more aggressive forms of scamming. Some victims will only become aware that their data has fallen into an attacker’s hands when they receive one-time codes and password reset requests.
Attackers often target the elderly, who are less tech-savvy. In 2023, scammers stole approximately $3.4 billion from older U.S. adults—a 14 percent increase over the previous year. The psychological toll incurred by succumbing to these scams can be profoundly unsettling, triggering bouts of depression and, at worst, suicidal ideation.
People can take proactive steps to protect themselves, like implementing two-factor authentication. But beyond that, Americans are wading into uncharted waters of a strange new era of AI-fueled scams.