• Fake Validation Notice
• Impersonating Government Officials
• Fake Headers and Email Addresses
• ​​​Fake Safety Audit
• Fraud Advisory
• Aggressive Telemarketing

Fake Validation Notice

FMCSA has been alerted to a fake validation notice addressed to motor carriers. This email appears to come from an FMCSA email server, but it is not from official sources. Additionally, this fraudulent email has a link embedded that advises the recipient to use for submitting documents and information. Adopt a defensive and cautious approach facing these fake emails.

What You Can Do:

• Do not click any suspicious links, hover over them to see the real email address or URL of that link. Click ONLY on links you deem trustworthy.
• Visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for more guidance on online deceiving tactics. Learn more about phishing.  
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends following certain procedures for email verification. 
• File a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) by using their IC3 site
• Reach out to the FMCSA Contact Center or call (1-800-832-5660) if you are the target of these practices. 

Impersonating Government Officials

SCAM ALERT: FMCSA is aware of fake documents being emailed to motor carriers from entities claiming to be FMCSA government officials. These documents are not generated by FMCSA and are fictitious in nature.

This is a new, aggressive scheme where the visual design, English spelling and FMCSA government officials' positions are not accurate. 

DO NOT respond or provide information to the senders. See screenshots below for reference.

What You Can Do:

• Do not click any suspicious links, hover over them to see the real email address or URL of that link. Click ONLY on links you deem trustworthy.
• Visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for more guidance on online deceiving tactics. Learn more about phishing.  
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends following certain procedures for email verification. 
• File a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) by using their IC3 site
• Reach out to the FMCSA Contact Center or call (1-800-832-5660) if you are the target of these practices. 

An email is being sent to registered entities by someone pretending to be FMCSA. These are requesting that you complete attached forms and ask for SSN and USDOT PIN. FMCSA does not require this information on the official FMCSA forms. DO NOT fill out forms attached to these fake and imposter emails. Usually, they will contain threats such as "if you do not respond within a day, you will be fined", which is not an FMCSA practice as part of the Registration process.  Always refer to the official FMCSA forms for any documentation you need.

In some cases, the phishing attempts also request a certificate of insurance and driver’s license information to help protect you against fraud.  Some of the fake/imposter email accounts are:  support@usdots-safer.com, safety@fmcsa.gov, filing@fmcsa.gov, dotfilings@fmcsa.gov or audit@fmcsa.gov. None of which are legitimate email addresses and are NOT used or owned by FMCSA.  They are just links that will actually take you to @fmcsa-safety-fmcsa.com, which is also NOT a domain owned or used by FMCSA. While many resemble official government email accounts, we always caution the receivers of emails to use the official FMCSA page for correct email addresses and links to documents. 

Not only some of this information is Personal Identifiable information (PII), but it would also allow the unauthorized party to gain access to your real FMCSA account. 

Communications from FMCSA relating to information requests of this type would either request you to log into your portal account at FMCSA Login (dot.gov), or the email would come directly from an FMCSA dedicated mailbox.

While these emails typically end in “.gov”, we encourage our stakeholders and customers to verify any email or communication they feel to be suspicious with the appropriate agency.

What You Can Do:

• Do not click any suspicious links, hover over them to see the real email address or URL of that link. Click ONLY on links you deem trustworthy.
• Visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for more guidance on online deceiving tactics. Learn more about phishing.  
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends following certain procedures for email verification. 
• File a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) by using their IC3 site
• Reach out to the FMCSA Contact Center or call (1-800-832-5660) if you are the target of these practices. 

These fake and imposter emails containing the phishing links appear very convincing and similar to correspondence is from FMCSA.

See screenshots from Fake/Imposter FMCSA Emails:

​

Fake Safety Audit

An email is being sent to registered entities by someone pretending to be FMCSA and notifying you need to schedule a safety audit. The link to request the safety audit has what appears to be a SAFER URL and mirrors FMCSA’s MC-150, but includes fields to enter a PIN #, EIN #, and Social Security Number. Not only is some of this information Personal Identifiable information (PII), but this information would also allow the unauthorized party to gain access to your FMCSA account. The email containing the link is also very convincing this is coming from FMCSA.

Communications relating to safety audits will typically come directly from an FMCSA dedicated mailbox, or from the entity within the State that has been assigned the responsibility to conduct the safety audit. While these emails typically end in a “.gov”, we encourage our stakeholders and customers to verify any email or communication they feel to be suspicious with the appropriate agency or contact your FMCSA Division Office directly to clarify. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends following certain procedures for email verification. 

What You Can Do:

• Do not click any suspicious links, hover over them to see the real email address or URL of that link. Click ONLY on links you deem trustworthy.
• Visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for more guidance on online deceiving tactics. Learn more about phishing.  
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends following certain procedures for email verification. 
• File a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) by using their IC3 site
• Reach out to the FMCSA Contact Center or call (1-800-832-5660) if you are the target of these practices. 

Fraud Advisory

If you suspect your company has been victim of fraud or identity theft, this is what you can do:

• Do not click any suspicious links, hover over them to see the real email address or URL of that link. Click ONLY on links you deem trustworthy.
• Visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for more guidance on online deceiving tactics. Learn more about phishing.  
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends following certain procedures for email verification. 
• File a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) by using their IC3 site
• Reach out to the FMCSA Contact Center or call (1-800-832-5660) if you are the target of these practices. 

FMCSA Position on Aggressive Telemarketing

FMCSA will not call you immediately after you submit your application for registration.  However, FMCSA publicly displays motor carrier contact information (name, address, phone number) in accordance with the Government's Open Data Policy and USDOT's commitment in its Open Government Plan. This includes displaying contact information for all existing carriers registered with FMCSA and for all future applicants. Once this information becomes publicly available, please note that you may be contacted by private businesses and/or vendors.

While FMCSA requires evidence of financial responsibility and a process agent for many entities, the U.S. Government does not endorse and generally does not require the use of private businesses or vendors. FMCSA will not contact regulated entities through telemarketers or "robo-call" automated solicitations, nor will we request a credit card number or charge a fee for our downloadable forms.  Please report aggressive or misleading telemarketers that pose as FMCSA or USDOT at: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/ 

If you need assistance with your registration, please contact FMCSA by calling 1-800-832-5660.