DMV alerts public of telephone, e-mail scams

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is reminding the public that it does not call or email asking for personal information.

Anyone who receives such inquiries should consider them a scam, the agency said.

According to the DMV, the agency has learned of a recent attempt to steal personal information in which Californians are contacted from a blocked number.

Scammers pretend to be a DMV employee offering to reschedule appointments and ask for personal information, such as social security number, date of birth, home address and driver’s license number.

The DMV said people should never provide such personal information to anyone who contacts them by telephone or email claiming to be a DMV employee.

People can report scams involving someone pretending to work for the DMV by filing a complaint with DMV Investigations Division fraud hotline at (866) 658-5758 or by e-mail to dlfraud@dmv.ca.gov.

Scams should also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission: www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

The DMV suggests that anyone who is victim of identity theft take the following steps:

▪ Notify credit bureaus that you are a victim of identity theft and request a fraud alert credit freeze.

▪ Obtain a free credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228, and report any incorrect information.

▪ File a police report and get a copy of it.

▪ Create an Identity Theft Report by filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

▪ Review all financial statements, such as credit card bills and bank statements.

This story was originally published May 9, 2015 at 3:57 PM with the headline "DMV alerts public of telephone, e-mail scams."