It landed on my phone over the weekend. I read it once. Then I read it again.<\/p>\n
NEW JERSEY: URGENT JUDICIAL RESOLUTION REQUIRED<\/p>\n
It had a case reference number. Assigned officials with ID numbers. A judge’s name. A clerk’s name. A deadline \u2014 April 27, 2026. A link to what appeared to be a New Jersey government website. Threats of license suspension, collections, litigation and something called “automatic enforcement protocols.”<\/p>\n
I knew immediately it was a scam. But I will be honest with you \u2014 for about half a second before my brain kicked in, something in me went cold. That is exactly what these people are counting on.<\/p>\n
I have heard from others who received the same text this weekend. This one is making the rounds right now in New Jersey and it is more sophisticated than the versions we have seen before.<\/p>\n
SEE ALSO: Watch out for scam texts pretending to be from these NJ agencies<\/a><\/p>\n Scam text received by EJ | EJ screenshot<\/p>\n Scam text received by EJ | EJ screenshotWhat makes this one different<\/p>\n I wrote about a similar scam back in January \u2014 that one impersonated the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission threatening unpaid traffic fines. This new version has evolved. Instead of the MVC it is now impersonating the New Jersey court system directly. It invents a fake case number \u2014 NJ-CD-2026-CV-25678. It names fake officials \u2014 B. Melville, Judge C. Abraham, Clerk M. Brook \u2014 with official-looking ID numbers. It sets a specific deadline. And it threatens consequences that escalate with every bullet point.<\/p>\n The link it provides \u2014 nj.gov-ajqm.shop\/pay \u2014 is the tell. Real New Jersey government websites always end in .nj.gov. If the link ends in anything else it is a fraud. The scammers know this so they put “nj.gov” at the beginning of the fake domain to fool you. Do not be fooled.<\/p>\n What the real NJ court system will never do<\/p>\n The New Jersey Judiciary has confirmed it is aware of this scam.<\/a> Their official statement is clear: the Judiciary never initiates unsolicited texts or emails threatening enforcement actions. If you have a legitimate traffic ticket or court matter, you can access NJMCDirect through njcourts.gov directly \u2014 never through a link someone texted you.<\/p>\n The NJMVC also does not initiate unsolicited text messages demanding payment. All MVC text communications are limited to appointment reminders only. That is it. Nothing else.<\/p>\n Why people fall for it<\/p>\n