Online search for Registry ends in a wrong turn
When a customer tried to renew her driver's license online, and Googled the Registry of Motor Vehicles, a website appeared, asking for her name, e-mail address, and credit card number.
But instead of renewing her license, she was charged a $10 fee for simply using the site.
Registry officials issued a warning to the public yesterday that if they paid up on such a website, they had been scammed.
Officials uncovered the online ploy Thursday when the customer called the Registry, asserting that she paid $10 to be directed to the RMV website, only to find out that due to personal circumstances she could not renew her license online, said Anne L. Collins, the department's registrar.
But when that complaint surfaced, officials did not know what the customer was talking about, Collins said.
"At first we were concerned that our site might have been hacked," Collins said.
The Registry's official site was immediately shut down for two hours Thursday while the state attorney general's office investigated and computer specialists checked for hackers. It turned out that the official website, mass.gov/rmv, was secure, Collins said.
Instead, officials found a case of so-called spoofing.
Someone set up an imitation website, Collins said. When customers used search engines like Google to find information about RMV forms, they were directed to a sponsored link, download-forms-DMV.com. On this site, a menu offered a list of services such as renewing driving licenses or ordering special plates.
Once a customer clicked on the service needed, the site asked for the customer's information, including credit card information and a one-time $10 payment.
"You may then use this website as often as you'd like with no additional fees," the site read.
After paying the fee, the site redirected customers to the Registry's official page, Collins said.
"It's a scam," she said. "We do not charge an access fee to do a transaction with us."
This is not the first time websites have been used to con people out of cash. In 2005, thousands donated to fake websites purporting to support Hurricane Katrina victims. Last year a Worcester judge sentenced Michael Deppe to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for swindling $500,000 from consumers in cyber schemes.
Though Collins believes that the imitation Registry site is a deceptive means to con customers out of money, she said the imitation site may be "perfectly legal."
The attorney general's office is investigating.
"At this point, we would encourage people who were taken advantage of by the deceptive site to reach out to our consumer affairs hotline," said spokeswoman Emily LaGrassa. The number is 617-727-8400.
Collins also advises customers to make sure that when they conduct their Registry business online, that the address bar says: mass.gov/rmv.
"We do want people to know that our site is secure," Collins said, "but to also be aware of the spoofing practice."
