SCAM ALERT:

Scammers are impersonating Pretrial Services to collect payments for GPS monitoring and other services.  Pretrial Services will never ask defendants or their family members for money. If you receive such a call, do not send payment or share any personal information.  Hang up and report it to law enforcement immediately.

Press Release

Court Warns Public of Ongoing Text Scam Seeking Payment

May 14, 2026

Scammers trying to obtain personal information by claiming unpaid Court and/or traffic fines

Oakland, Calif. – May 14, 2026 – The Court is warning the community of an ongoing scam in which thieves are seeking personal information through text messages falsely claiming a person owes the Court money for unpaid traffic fines or needs to fill out a form to resolve a pending traffic citation.

The Court will never seek payment via text, email or phone for any Court fine, including traffic fines. The Court will also never solicit personal information via text or email. Examples of scam messaging include wording describing the issue as urgent or late, fake links that look like government websites and/or fake forms that pretend to be from the DMV.

Anyone unsure about having paid a traffic citation should visit the Court’s website at http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov and click on “Pay Your Traffic Ticket.” From there, they will be directed to a site from which they can enter their name and driver’s license number to see if there are any outstanding traffic citations.

Residents concerned of a possible scam are also asked to visit the Judicial Council website: Scam warning | California Courts | Self Help Guide.

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