INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana officials are warning Hoosiers to be alert for phishing emails being reported across the state.
Secretary of State Diego Morales warned these emails may look official but are scams that trick people into clicking dangerous links or sharing sensitive information. They often pretend to come from state-affiliated sources like “txtag.”
Here's what you should do, according to Morales:
- Don’t click on any links or attachments in suspicious emails.
- Delete the message right away.
- Officials are working with the State Office of Technology to investigate and stop these attacks.
“These scams are dangerous and disruptive,” said Morales. “I urge everyone to be cautious about opening emails and clicking on any unknown links. Your security is our top priority.”
Currently, there’s no evidence that these phishing emails are pretending to be from the Secretary of State's office, but they target individuals who have interacted with the office.
Attorney General Todd Rokita is also sounding the alarm on the scam texts and suggest reporting to his office, as well as the following recommendations:
- Verify any toll-related claims directly through the official TxTag website or by calling their customer service at 1-888-468-9824
- Report suspicious emails to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office here.
- Forward spam emails to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov to help track and stop scammers
In addition, the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) is alerting the public to fake messages that look like they are from state agencies asking for unpaid tolls. These messages are also scams.
Important points:
- The State of Indiana does not notify people about unpaid tolls through text or email.
- The IOT is working with the company that sent these messages to prevent further scams.
- A contractor's account was hacked, which allowed these fake messages to be sent.
So far, there have been no reports of any state systems being compromised due to this issue
