A notice telling people they must appear in court for a toll violation is fake, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office says.
What’s Happening: The sheriff’s office says multiple people have reported receiving the notice as a text message over the past few days. Some people went to the courthouse in Atlanta and found no hearing scheduled.
What’s Important: The document gives recipients less than 24 hours to respond and threatens arrest, license suspension, and contempt of court charges for failure to appear or pay.
How This Affects Real People: Anyone who receives this message and pays the fine or appears at the courthouse is responding to a fraudulent document. No money should be sent using the QR code on the notice.
What We Know: The document contains several red flags:
- Multiple misspellings, including “recieved,” “notlied,” and “commnized”
- The judge’s name and the clerk of court’s name are both listed as “John Smith”
- The notice arrives the day before the listed hearing date
The Path Forward: Anyone who receives this message or has already paid should contact the sheriff’s office or the State Court of Fulton County directly at (404) 613-5085.
