FMCSA warns truckers about phishing email scam

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is making truckers aware of a phishing email scam that claims to be from the agency.

“The agency is aware that an email is being sent to registered entities by a party pretending to be FMCSA and requesting that carriers complete forms attached to the email,” the agency wrote. “Those forms ask for a Social Security number and USDOT personal identification number.”

FMCSA emphasized that the agency does not require such information on its forms.

“Carriers should not fill out forms attached to the fake email,” FMCSA wrote. “In some cases, the phishing attempt also asks for a certificate of insurance and driver’s license to help protect the recipient against fraud. There is also a threat that if the recipient does not respond within a day, the individual will be fined, which is also not an FMCSA practice as part of the registration process.”

At first glance, the emails appear legitimate. FMCSA said the fake emails are originating from safety@fmcsa.gov, filing@fmcsa.gov, dotfilings@fmcsa.gov or audit@fmcsa.gov.

The agency said that none of these are legitimate email addresses and that none of them are used or owned by FMCSA.

If you receive an email from one of the addresses above, FMCSA advises:

• Do not click any suspicious links.
• Visit the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency
• The Federal Trade Commission recommends following certain procedures for email verification.
• File a complaint with the FBI.
• Call FMCSA at 800-832-5660 if you are the target of these practices.

OOIDA members report email scam

In July, OOIDA members began to report fraudulent emails purported to be from FMCSA.

The email, which appeared to come from the agency, included attachments of forms MCSA-5889 or MCS-150 and asked carriers for their USDOT PIN.

“Although the emails come from a .gov domain, these emails are not from FMCSA,” said Crystal Minardi of OOIDA’s Business Services. “FMCSA will never ask you for your PIN on a manual form. We are advising our members not to reply.” LL