We have a warning for anyone looking to take care of Department of Motor Vehicles paperwork online. Impostor DMV websites are popping up designed to take your personal information and even your money. Are you dreading the paperwork and long lines that you may encounter during your next trip to the DMV? Well, you aren’t alone and this is why consumer protection experts tell us people need to be alert if they come across websites that promise to help with the experience. Some of these sites are after your personal information and aren’t in any way affiliated with the state.
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Having to make a trip to the DMV office can give some people anxiety.
“My thoughts are I don’t want to go. I don’t want to wait in line. I don’t want to have to deal with all the paperwork and be told I have the wrong information,” said Clayton Hill, when asked about his thoughts on making a trip to the DMV.
We ran into hill outside a DMV office in El Paso County. He just moved to the area from Arkansas and says he gets why some people will go searching online for ways to avoid the visit all together.
“I would just rather do it online really,” said Hill. “It’s all right there at my home and if I need something I can go get it instead of driving back and forth.”
Consumer protection experts say the desire to take care of DMV issues on the web is allowing fraudsters to lurk online, waiting for people to share sensitive information including social security numbers.
“It does create that space unfortunately for people to be taken advantage of because if you knew the last time you renewed your license it took you 3 hours in line and then you had to go home and get an additional document, couldn’t call anyone on the phone… the next time it comes up it’s very easy for you to google and say is there another way to do this?,” said Adah Rodriguez of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado.
Rodriguez says her organization is investigating websites like coloradodlguide.org where people are giving up both credit card and personal information and even paying for what they think are DMV services, even though the site has zero affiliation with the state.
“You never know what someone does with your personal information so unfortunately there could be illegal activity happening, but definitely ethically, and definitely dishonest,” said Rodriguez.
The El Paso County Clerks Office shares the same concerns as citizens are reporting landing on impostor websites that appear before legitimate ones in online search results and even in web sponsored ads.
Hill says he believes fake DMV websites are successful because people are allowing themselves to be easy targets.
“They are targeting people who are lazy like me I guess who really don’t want to get out and deal with the hassle. So I guess you got to be wary of all that,” said Hill.
The State of Colorado has two official vehicle registration websites: mydmv.colorado.gov and colorado.gov/dmv These are the websites citizens should use for online motor vehicle services.
It is important for citizens to have the option to do many of the services we offer from home and allows for a
faster customer experience. Online services, available at Colorado Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle,
mydmv.colorado.gov include:
- First-time Registration
- Registration Fee Estimator
- Add/change a Vehicle Address
- Get a Transaction Receipt
- Request Duplicate Registration Card
- Manage Your Placards
- Request a Personalized Plate
- First-time Application Disability
- Apply for an Emissions Waiver
- Request a Title/registration History Report
- Request a Title Status
- Apply for Out-of-State Emissions
- Become a Third Party IRP Agent
