If you happen to get a text message notice of a traffic violation, verify it’s legitimate.

A slew of fake ones have been delivered to people in Colorado.

The Colorado State Patrol is warning Colorado residents of a scam in which a photo purporting to show a notice of default and final enforcement notice on a traffic violation. The photo appears to show a legitimate form, complete with a court date, warning that the recipient has an unpaid traffic ticket. It asks recipients to scan the QR code on the form to go to the payment portal and take care of the violation before penalties start.

Only, it’s a scam. The CSP said the form is not an official document and is designed to get payment details from the recipient. One huge red flag is the notice doesn’t have the recipient’s name. Another is that the court named in the message, the District Court of Colorado for Denver County, doesn’t exist.

Several people responded to the CSP’s post on X showing the picture they received over text. One person who said they live in Kansas posted a picture of one they received, which is nearly identical to the one sent to Coloradans, just with the word “Colorado” swapped for “Kansas,” and with a different state seal.

The Denver Police Department encourages anyone who receives such a message to report it to the department at denvergov.org/police and click “report crime now.”

Real traffic citations may be paid online on Denver’s County Court website. The city does not notify residents of violations through electronic messaging.

The fraudulent messages resulted in hundreds of calls to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, according to a 9News report. Officials at the court estimated they received between 300 and 500 calls, which is much more than they usually get regarding scam messages.

Carolyn Tyler, a spokesperson for Denver County Court, said about 200 people, many of whom were Spanish speakers, showed up to the City and County Building to pay off their nonexistent traffic violations.

Tyler said courts in Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, South Dakota, and Virginia are reporting similar activity. 

The Denver Gazette’s news partners 9NEWS contributed to this story.