The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico announced on June 3 that individuals have recently been targeted in a court-related scam involving fraudulent text messages. The scam, reported since Monday, June 1, involves recipients receiving a message from a number beginning with 212, notifying them of an alleged traffic citation with the “New Mexico District Court.”
According to the court, the message includes details such as the name of an issuing officer, assigned judge, clerk of court, and an alleged case number. Recipients are told they must appear in court on a specific date—typically the day after receiving the message—and are threatened with an arrest warrant “without further warning” if they do not comply. The text also provides a link for recipients to click to take immediate action.
The scammers may use real names of judges within New Mexico—including both state and federal courts—as well as actual law enforcement officers or staff members from Clerk’s Offices within the state. The U.S. District Court emphasized that it does not handle traffic citations and will never send notices to appear via text message or request sensitive information through unsolicited texts.
The court stated that it is illegal for anyone to falsely represent themselves as a federal court official, and said such offenses are taken seriously by the federal judiciary. Individuals who receive these messages are advised not to click any links, respond to the sender, provide information, or pay any fines.
Anyone who receives such a scam text should report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/ or through the Federal Trade Commission’s fraud reporting website at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/. In New Mexico, individuals may also contact the U.S. District Court at 505-348-2000 to verify whether there are pending matters in their name or visit www.nmd.uscourts.gov/federal-court-related-scams for more information.
