Beware of Imposter Louisiana OMV Websites

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Seems like every time you turn around these days, another shady person or entity has figured a way to circumnavigate the system and scam the public out of hard earned dollars.

In a story from the Louisiana Radio Network, we find that now there are a large number of "imposter" Office of Motor Vehicle websites popping up as of late and the official Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles has issued a warning for all potential customers about these operators.

According to Matt Boudreaux, spokesperson for the OMV, these are actually private companies that use paid websites offering renewal services. And with those "services" come extra fees. Fees not charged with the official OMV site. Additionally, these sites are known to save consumers' personal information and will later automatically charge customers when it is time for renewal. Essentially it becomes somewhat like an "auto renew" contract clause. Again, something the official OMV site would never do.

What's making these websites so successful is their willingness to pay Google to be the top listed service for any search related to “renew my vehicle registration”. So the question might occur to consumers, "How do I know if I've logged onto an imposter site or if it's the state's official Office of Motor Vehicle site?"

According to Boudreaux, if you see advertisements on the site you've logged into, that's a dead giveaway. The official site features zero ads. Boudreaux added that there's only one sure way to avoid being scammed and that is by going directly to the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles website. Just go HERE and you'll be good to go.

OMV encourages you to report any fraudulent or imposter websites to State Police.