Fake Arkansas traffic-citation texts send recipients to dfa-arkansas-govzs.life payment page

What happened

MalwareTips reports a scam text impersonating an Arkansas court notice about outstanding traffic citations, signed with a judge and clerk name, threatening vehicle registration suspension, a possible driving restriction and a 35% service fee. The reported payment destination is dfa-arkansas-govzs.life, which is not an Arkansas government site. MalwareTips cites the Arkansas DFA's official warning that scammers copy its website and that the department does not send texts about traffic tickets or tolls.

How the scam works

Traffic-ticket and toll texts are one of the most common forms of government-impersonation smishing in the U.S. The message uses court-style details, such as a case number and the names of a judge and a clerk, to look official. It then piles on consequences: registration suspension, driving restrictions and a 35% 'service fee' for paying late. The link goes to a page whose address includes 'dfa-arkansas' and 'gov' but ends in .life, which isn't a government domain. Arkansas state sites use arkansas.gov.

The payment page typically asks for name, address, phone number and full card details. Criminals can then use or sell the card and may follow up with more convincing calls. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration warns that scammers copy its website and says it doesn't send text messages about traffic tickets or tolls. The Arkansas courts and DFA are impersonated and are not involved. If you're unsure whether you owe anything, check with the court or DFA using contact details from an official .gov site.

Source

MalwareTips, "Judge Carolyn Hayes Scam Text: Arkansas Payment Threat" (published 25 October 2026).