State officials issue warning about identity theft scheme targeting Ohio BMV accounts

Lily Carey, The Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read

Thieves are stealing personal information to answer Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle online security questions, get access to accounts and order drivers licenses to be mailed to new addresses, state officials warned.

The scam is happening on a wider scale in other states, including Texas. The Department of Public Safety warns Ohioans to be on the lookout for online profile changes that they did not request.

Though no state systems were breached, it is unclear where criminals obtained the personal data.

What to do if you've been scammed

The BMV found about 90 accounts where information was stolen. Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lindsey Bohrer said these 90 accounts marked every instance of identity theft that the state had found using historical data since the online license renewal option started in June 2022.

However, Ohio DPS Director Andy Wilson said in a press release that “if you receive a postcard from the Ohio BMV telling you about an address change that you did not request, it’s important that you immediately take action.”

If you believe you've been scammed, the DPS recommends:

  • Contacting the BMV online or at 1-(844)-644-6268

  • Filing a report with your local law enforcement agency

  • Changing answers to online security questions

  • Placing a fraud alert on your credit file

The BMV has reported the scam to law enforcement and is doing additional monitoring for criminal activity on its accounts. It is "unlikely" that any more fraudulently requested licenses will be mailed, the press release said.

A troubling trend

While Ohio officials caught the scheme early on, this isn’t an isolated incident. It was first identified earlier this year in Texas, where thousands of replacement driver’s licenses were sent to unauthorized parties using stolen personal information.

Bohrer reported that the scheme is part of a “complex nationwide criminal enterprise impacting multiple states.”

Identity theft schemes involving drivers licenses and BMV accounts rose nationally in 2022, according to a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Yet scams targeting BMV accounts aren’t new, Bohrer noted.

“What we have here is criminals trying to use new methods to do what they’re already doing in every state every day around the country,” Bohrer wrote.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio identity theft scam targets BMV accounts, drivers licenses