Text with a picture of a fake court notice demands you pay a traffic fine via QR code
A text message containing an image of an official-looking traffic court notice—with a state seal, fake case number, judge name, and QR code—demands you pay a small fine or appear at a fake hearing. The QR code leads to a phishing site that steals card details.
Also known as: fake traffic court notice text, traffic division text scam, traffic hearing QR code scam, fake court summons text, traffic violation smishing
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Do not scan the QR code and do not click any link in the text — delete the message
- 2 If you think the notice might be real, look up the court's official website yourself and search your name or case number there — do not use any contact information in the text
- 3 Forward the scam text to 7726 (SPAM) to report it to your carrier
- 4 If you entered payment information on the fake site, contact your card issuer immediately to dispute charges and replace your card
- 5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ Real courts never send traffic summons or payment demands by text message — official notices arrive by U.S. mail
- ⚠ The notice contains a QR code instead of the court's official URL, a tactic specifically designed to bypass text-based URL filters
- ⚠ The fine amount is deliberately small ($6.99–$24.99) to feel credible and reduce hesitation
- ⚠ A judge's name and case number appear on the notice — details stolen from real court records to appear more legitimate
- ⚠ The same fake judge name and notice template have been spotted in multiple unrelated states, which no real judge would appear in
- ⚠ People with no traffic violations, or who have never driven in the claimed state, still receive the text
Known variants
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Spanish-language version targets Latino drivers in CA, TX, and FL, claiming a 'multa de tráfico' or 'infracción pendiente.' Some variants threaten license suspension or immigration consequences to pressure undocumented drivers into paying immediately.
Last seen: 5/31/2026
Sources
- FTC Consumer Alert — That text about a traffic violation is probably a scam (Apr 2026)
- California AG Bonta — Pay Up, You're in Trouble: AG Warns of Court Notice Scams (Apr 2026)
- Maryland Judiciary — Warning of text scam about parking and toll violations (Mar 2026)
- Fox News — Fake traffic violation text scam uses QR codes to steal payment info (Apr 2026)
- AZ Family — Scam alert: Dozens show up to Phoenix court over fake traffic fine texts (Apr 2026)
- Malwarebytes — Traffic violation scams swap links for QR codes (Apr 2026)
- FTC — New trends in imposter scams: government impersonation up 40%, traffic court texts cited (May 2026)