The Hawaii County Department of Finance, Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division on Wednesday warned the public of a text message scam circulating around the island claiming to offer “DMV refunds.”
The texts are issued through an out-of-state number and contain a link to click on to receive refunds. The division does not generally issue refunds, and if they did, customers would not be notified via text message, according to the county. Official correspondence between the Hawaii County VRL and the public is issued via hardcopy letter and sent to the known address in the VRL database.
Additionally, the County of Hawaii does not have a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), a term more commonly associated with licensing and registration offices on the mainland, nor do they have the means to text message individual cell phones.
If you are a victim of this scam, report it to the Hawaii Police Department nonemergency line at (808) 935-3311.