JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Judiciary has issued a warning about fake text messages, about allegedly outstanding traffic tickets, designed to trick people into clicking on a link that might expose them to viruses or other malware.
Missouri courts will not contact you by text message about traffic tickets. The public is urged not to click on any links in these fake text messages.
The court and court officials named in the text do not exist, the case numbers and citation numbers are not real, and the link provided does not go to an official government website.
The public can use Case.net to determine if they have a real traffic case. For their convenience, members of the public can choose – from the official Case.net site – to use Plead and Pay to resolve certain tickets without going to court. (Be sure to access Case.net by using an official link either from the Missouri Courts website, https://www.courts.mo.gov, or directly at https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/.) Learn more about Plead and Pay at https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=1886. You also can contact the local court for questions.
If you have received a traffic ticket with a court date, but you cannot find it yet in Case.net, it is possible the local prosecutor has not yet filed the case with the court. You can contact the local prosecutor for questions.
The public also can report fraudulent texts to local law enforcement.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Missouri’s state courts administrator’s Help Desk toll-free at (888) 541-4894 or by e-mail at OSCA.Help.Desk@courts.mo.gov.