INDIANA– Hoosiers are being warned about a wave of spam emails and text messages that began circulating late Monday night, appearing to originate from official Indiana state government email addresses. The messages, many carrying the subject line “TxTag Account Suspension Warning,” are confirmed to be scams.
Numerous state agencies’ email addresses were compromised, flooding inboxes with fraudulent messages. Affected agencies include the Indiana Department of Revenue, Department of Correction, Department of Transportation, Department of Education, the Governor’s Office (displaying former Governor Holcomb), the State Comptroller, the Personnel Department, the Prosecuting Attorneys Council, the Family and Social Services Administration, the Department of Child Services, the Department of Health, the Department of Environmental Management, the Department of Insurance, the Emergency Operations Center, and the Department of Natural Resources.
The content of the emails typically claims the recipient has “unpaid toll charges” and urges them to click a link to make a payment and avoid late fees. Authorities stress that these messages are not legitimate.
The Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) has issued an official statement confirming that a contractor’s account, previously used to send state messages, was hacked and utilized to distribute the spam. The state’s contract with this company ended on December 31, 2024, but the company reportedly failed to remove the state’s account.
“The State does not send unpaid toll notifications via text or email,” the IOT statement read. “IOT is working with the company that was used to deliver those messages to stop any further communications.” The IOT also stated that they are unaware of any current state systems being compromised.
Adding to the warning, the Indiana Supreme Court also alerted the public about malicious emails and texts circulating from state agency GovDelivery accounts, including the Indiana Courts account. The Supreme Court emphasized that they no longer use GovDelivery and that any messages received from that platform containing a hyperlink should be deleted without clicking.
Residents who receive these “TxTag Account Suspension Warning” emails or any other suspicious messages from state government email addresses are strongly advised to ignore them and avoid clicking any links. The state is working to resolve the issue and prevent further fraudulent communications.
