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Those fake text messages about unpaid traffic fines and highway tolls are netting some big results.

About 50 people showed up at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse earlier this month after receiving an official-looking text or mailed notice titled, 鈥淔inal Enforcement Notice 鈥� Court Ordered Compliance Required.鈥�

The warning notice accused the person of a parking or speeding violation or failure to pay an electronic toll. The recipient was directed to pay in full by either using a QR code or appearing at the courthouse at 9 a.m.

Besides those who showed up, the court helped another 50 people who called about the notice, says court spokeswoman Camille Cordova.

And the fraudulent alert didn鈥檛 just appear in sa国际传媒官网网页入口. One recipient from Las Cruces who was directed to Metro Court here said, 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 been in Bernalillo County, except to drive through, in years.鈥�

In Denver, even more people took the bait. About 200 people reported to the courthouse there on May 1 after receiving a similar notice, supposedly from the Denver traffic division.

Cordova 鈥� and other targeted court systems 鈥� are reminding people that official notifications are sent through the mail, not by text or phone.

Since the outbreak of this scam earlier this year, the local court has placed warning signs inside and outside the courthouse, posted a warning banner on its website, played a caution message when people call the main phone number and issued numerous press releases, Cordova says.

CAPTCHA scams can drain bank accounts

Don鈥檛 be duped when it comes to those CAPTCHA security measures, in which you鈥檙e asked to press images that show a particular item, like traffic lights or crosswalks, for example.

They are designed to protect websites by making sure users are humans and not bots or spam.

However, this simple security step can in turn threaten the security of its users because scammers are creating realistic but fake CAPTCHAs to install malicious commands, warns the Identity Theft Resource Center.

You鈥檒l know something鈥檚 up if you鈥檙e told there鈥檚 an error when you click a button. You are given some steps to fix it that might include pressing a particular sequence of keys on your keyboard.

If you do that, what you鈥檙e really doing is opening a hidden command box and pasting in invisible instructions that will download a virus, the ITRC says.

It鈥檚 like a 鈥渄igital pickpocket鈥� that will search your computer for saved passwords and login information.

鈥淪ince you 鈥榓uthorized鈥� the command by pressing those keys, your computer might not even realize it鈥檚 being robbed,鈥� the resource center says. 鈥淵ou may not know until you start seeing weird charges on your credit cards or get locked out of your accounts.鈥�

Keep in mind that a legitimate website will not ask you to perform a command or use a keyboard shortcut to prove that you are a human.

If you鈥檙e asked to open a 鈥渞un鈥� box or paste a code, close the window immediately. If you鈥檙e concerned that a site is blocked, type the address in your browser rather than following any links, the center advises.

Contact Ellen Marks at emarks@abqjournal.com if you are aware of what sounds like a scam. To report a scam to law enforcement, contact the New Mexico Consumer Protection Division at 505-490-4060. Complaints can be filed electronically at nmag.gov/contact-us/file-a-complaint/