Bogus phishing texts prompt warning as Nevada remains a target for scammers

A recent wave of phishing messages from scammers posing as Clark County District Court officials has authorities urging the public to take measures to protect themselves.

Court officials said in a release on Wednesday that phones across the Las Vegas Valley are being hit with bogus text messages purporting to be from District Court or the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. According to the release, the messages seek payment for “unresolved parking violations and tickets,” and often include a hyperlink to resolve the matter.

Potential victims are frequently threatened if they don’t pay up, according to the court’s statement. Once the scammers receive a response, they will ask the victim for a prepaid credit card.

But the court advised anyone who receives texts or emails that they should not click on any links in those messages or respond. The court never texts, calls or emails people to get personal information, and will not call to solicit payment for violations with prepaid credit cards or issue threats, according to the District Court release.

The spam messages come as losses from cybercrime surpassed an estimated $20.9 billion in 2025, according to a report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Out of the 1,008,597 complaints logged in the FBI report, phishing scams — such as those described in the recent District Court release — were the most common type of complaint, with 191,561 reports taken.

According to the FBI, phishing is a method that uses fraudulent emails, texts, or websites to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information like passwords or banking PINs, or by using hyperlinks or attachments to install malicious code to a target’s device.

Cybercrime and how Nevada ranks nationally

The FBI report said that 13,366 cybercrimes were reported in Nevada last year, which ranks 24th among states in terms of overall complaints, and accounted for more than $302.2 million in losses, which ranked 18th in the U.S. California led the nation in both total cybercrimes reported at 116,414 and nearly $3.7 billion in losses.

The Silver State, however, ranked third in the U.S. in complaints per 100,000 citizens (407.2) and monetary losses per 100,000 citizens ($9.2 million). The District of Columbia ranked first in both categories, with 448.8 complaints and $14 million in losses per 100,000 citizens.

Mark Krueger, a Nevada deputy attorney general working in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a phone interview Friday that recent advances in artificial intelligence have made scams much more convincing.

In the event you receive a suspicious message, think to see if the sender is trying to generate a sense of urgency, Krueger said. If they are, then it might be a scam.

“The more urgent the scammers make it, the more susceptible anybody could become to it,” Krueger said. Romance scams, or requests for gift cards or cryptocurrency should raise immediate flags, he added.

“Government agencies aren’t going to call you and demand payment,” Krueger continued. “A utility company is not going to call you and demand payment. But when the scammers pretend to be a utility company that calls at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday before a long weekend, you get pretty nervous that they’re going to truly shut off your bill. And that’s when that sense of urgency is created.”

Scams can be reported to the Nevada attorney general’s Bureau of Consumer Protection at ag.nv.gov or by phone at 888-434-9989. Online scams can also be reported to the FBI at ic3.gov.