Ness Warns Residents of New Scams Targeting Illinoisans

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In response to reports of new scams targeting Illinoisans, state Rep. Suzanne Ness, D-Crystal Lake, is encouraging residents to take steps to protect themselves from scams and fraud.

“It is disheartening that scammers and bad actors continue to take advantage of individuals and steal personal information and it is evident that they continue to find new ways to do so,” said Ness. “It is important that we are all aware of new scams that arise as well as common schemes and questions that are asked that are designed to sound legitimate.” 

Recently, two new scams have surfaced attempting to defraud Illinoisans. The first scam is a text claiming to come from the Illinois Secretary of State (SOS) asking recipients to visit “uipendingcases.org.” The second scam involves several websites, such as “IllinoisCarReg.com,” offering online license plate sticker renewals that charge residents an extra fee in addition to the sticker renewal fee. The SOS is encouraging residents to only use their official government website, cyberdriveillinois.com, to renew their stickers online and to not give out information such as Social Security numbers or bank account information to unsolicited texts or calls.

Individuals who believe they have been defrauded by any of these schemes are encouraged to contact their credit card company to dispute the extra fee charge. If you have questions about text message scams or identity theft, call the Illinois Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at 800-386-5438. For more information on how to protect yourself from fraud and scam, individuals can visit the Attorney General’s website at https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/phonescams.html

“With the emergence of these new scams, I encourage all residents to learn the best practices to keep yourself and your family safe from those looking to scam you,” said Ness. “I will do my part to fight against these scam artists by raising awareness on new scams, as well as cracking down on scammers through legislation.”