PHOENIX – Today, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is warning consumers about an increase in text scammers impersonating government agencies. Fraudsters are using fake text messages to trick Arizonans into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information, or sending money by pretending to be a trustworthy institution.
For immediate release: June 11, 2025
“As a reminder, government agencies will never call, email, text, or message you out of the blue to ask for money or personal information,” said Attorney General Mayes. “If you get a text from the ‘Arizona Ministry of Communications’ ignore and delete it. And you can always report text scams to my office or to the FTC.”
Scammers will say they work for the ADOT, USPS, or Pima County Superior Court — but sometimes they give you fake agency names, like the non-existent ‘Arizona Ministry of Communications.’ It’s critical to recognize that this is a scam, government agencies will never call, email, text, or message you on social media to ask for money or personal information. No government agency will demand you wire money or pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a payment app. Only a scammer will do that.
No matter which agency they’re pretending to represent, government imposters share a common set of strategies to steal your information and savings. With government impersonation scams, the bad actors phish for consumers personal and financial information by including a phony web link in text messages that, if clicked, will take consumers to a counterfeit website. Not only is the scammer trying to steal consumers’ money, but if you click the link, they could get your personal info (like your driver’s license number) — and even steal your identity.
Attorney General Mayes recommends these steps to avoid being scammed:
- Ignore messages from unknown numbers claiming to be government agencies, financial institutions, shippers, and private companies.
- Never click links, reply to text messages or call numbers you don’t recognize.
- Do not respond, even if the message requests that you “text STOP” to end messages.
- Delete all suspicious texts. Look for red flags in the text message, like misspellings or directions pressuring you to act quickly.
- Protect any sensitive personal information – bank accounts, health records, social media accounts, etc. – by using multi-factor authentication to access it.
If you are concerned that a government agency is legitimately trying to reach you, first delete the text, and then be reach out to the agency directly. Research the legitimate agency’s contact information via a search engine (don’t rely on the text you received).
The Attorney General’s Office also recommends the following to prevent unwanted text messages:
- Update your device. Make sure your smart device OS and security apps are updated to the latest version.
- Use filters. Check if your mobile phone has options to filter and block texts from unknown senders– here’s how to filter and block messages on an iPhone and how to block a phone number on an Android phone. Many robocall blocking apps can also block text messages.
- Report unwanted messages and all suspected scams. Use your phone’s “report junk” option or forward unwanted texts to 7726 (SPAM). If you believe you have been a victim of consumer fraud, you can file a consumer complaint by visiting the Attorney General’s website. If you need a complaint form sent to you, you can contact the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431. You can also file a complaint with the FTC on their website ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
At around 11 am, a reader sent us a screenshot of this text. It seems the Attorney General is well aware of the situation. Please follow the above advice to report any texts you receive.
