The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office logo, serving Alameda County, California. (Alameda County Sheriff’s Office via Bay City News)

Scammers have been sending out fake text messages purporting to be from the Superior Court of Alameda County seeking payment for unpaid traffic tickets, the Sheriff’s Office said. 

The Court cautioned the public that they would never text anyone and ask for traffic citation payments and advises that no one should ever respond to such texts with personal or financial information. 

Anyone who is unsure if they owe money for a traffic ticket can go to www.alameda.courts.ca.gov and click on “Pay Your Traffic Ticket” to see if there are any outstanding citations. 

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.