By MDBayNews Staff
The Maryland Judiciary has issued an urgent public warning after identifying a fraudulent text-message scam that claims to be an official court summons related to an unpaid toll violation. The scam targets residents and motorists in and around Baltimore City, seeking to trick recipients into providing personal information or making a payment in response to a bogus notice.
According to an official press release by the Maryland Judiciary, the fake text messages appear to originate from “Maryland Court Summons” and include a purported toll violation, along with a QR code and instructions to appear at a Baltimore City District Court location — such as Wabash, Hargrove, Hubbard, Eastside, or the old Civil Courthouse at 501 East Fayette Street — at a stated date and time.
The scam texts warn that failure to comply will result in a “bench warrant” or additional fines, language intended to intimidate recipients into acting quickly. The Judiciary’s release emphatically states that Maryland courts do not send texts requesting payments or personal information via text message, telephone, or email.
Officials are urging anyone who receives such a message to not click on any links, scan the QR code, reply to the message, or provide any payment or personal details. Instead, members of the public with questions or concerns about possible scams are directed to contact the Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division hotline at 410-528-8662 or toll-free at 888-743-0023.
For verification of legitimate court business — including traffic and toll violations — residents are advised to contact their local District Court or Circuit Court directly using contact information from the official Maryland Judiciary website rather than relying on any unsolicited texts.
This warning follows similar advisories from the Judiciary earlier this month about scam text messages falsely referencing parking violations, highlighting a broader pattern of fraud attempts leveraging official-sounding language to mislead Marylanders.
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