BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles is warning residents of fraudulent third-party websites scamming personal data and credit card information for online vehicle registration services.
The OMV claims these websites are privately owned by for-profit companies and are not affiliated with any state government agency.
“We have had reports from our citizens who were deceived into providing sensitive information to other websites,” said OMV Commissioner Karen St. Germain. “We encourage our customers to utilize our online services when they can, but they should be aware of the dangers associated with some third-party websites.”
Customers are encouraged to utilize the Louisiana State Police online system to report imposter websites. The secure reporting form is located under the “Suspicious Activity” link at www.lsp.org.
OMV offers the following tips for safe and secure online transactions:
- Instead of using an internet search engine, type the URL directly into the address bar.
- Verify the correct URL before entering personal information.
- Check your bank or credit card statements frequently.
- Third-party websites often include advertisements; www.expresslane.org does not have ads.