Parking scam targets Milwaukee residents and government officials
Published on January 5, 2025- The Wisconsin Law Journal
Milwaukee residents, including government officials and members of the news media, have been targeted in what officials are calling “a parking scam.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, “It’s a scam. Milwaukee does not email or text notices about unpaid parking tickets. The scammers even sent this to my phone. If you receive this type of email or text, just delete it!,” Johnson posted.
Mike De Sisti, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photographer, posted to social media on Dec. 30 that he had received the same scam text.
On the same day, former Milwaukee County Supervisor Jason Haas told the Wisconsin Law Journal that he also received a text message on his cell phone at or around 10 a.m. that said he has an unpaid parking citation. The text appeared to be from the city of Milwaukee.
Haas, who serves as a legislative liaison for the non-profit consultant The Difference Principle, noted the text message instructed him to go to a particular website, ds-milwaukee.com.
“Rather than clicking the link, I performed what’s called a ‘WHOIS’ domain name lookup through a domain name registration site. Here’s the exact URL” Haas noted.
When looking up who owns the website, Haas discovered the site is registered to Nicenic International Group Ltd, a company based in China.
After posting his experience to social media, Haas said others have come forward noting they received a similar scam text message.
Milwaukee Police Department officials told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Dec. 31 that …