By the TruckerNavi compliance team, led by Dmitry Borovoy, a New Jersey-licensed insurance producer and author of "Safety Manager: From Zero to Expert".
Short answer: FMCSA does not ask for payment, UCR money, your USDOT PIN, SSN, EIN or bank details in a call, email or text you did not start, and it never opens contact by demanding an immediate payment (FMCSA alert, January 30, 2026). Hang up, send nothing and check it yourself: 1-800-832-5660 or a ticket at ask.fmcsa.dot.gov. Then report it to the FTC and the FBI's IC3. Real FMCSA contact does exist, so the rule is verify, not ignore.
Yes, sometimes, which is why "FMCSA never calls, hang up on all of them" is bad advice. A new carrier gets a genuine call in its first 90 days, and ignoring it can cost the registration. What FMCSA does not do is start a contact that ends with you paying on the spot or reading out sensitive data.
| Channel | Real FMCSA contact | Impostor contact |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | The New Entrant Contact Center calls within 90 days after registration to confirm your data; if you fail to respond, the registration may be revoked | A call right after you file (FMCSA says it does not do this), a robocall or telemarketer, a request for a card number |
| Almost always from .gov. The stated exception is a satisfaction survey after you contacted the Contact Center, feedback only. Information requests send you to your own account or come from an FMCSA dedicated mailbox | A lookalike or non-.gov sender, attached forms asking for SSN and PIN, a fine threat "within a day" | |
| Text message | A USDOT PIN you requested yourself on SAFER, sent to the phone on file; Login.gov codes while you sign in | A text with a link to "update", "verify" or "avoid deactivation" |
| Safety audit | From an FMCSA dedicated mailbox or the state agency doing the audit; an audit letter must be answered | A "SAFER" form that copies the MCS-150 and adds PIN, EIN and SSN fields |
| Updates | Always started by you, in Motus at motus.dot.gov | A "required update" button, a "not authorized" alert, an "incomplete profile" reminder |
| Money | No fee for downloadable forms, no card numbers by phone | A fee for a "form", a "balance due today", a card taken by phone |
An honest note. FMCSA publishes carriers' names, addresses and phones under the federal Open Data Policy, so private companies will call you, compliance services like ours included. FMCSA says the government does not endorse vendors and generally does not require one (FMCSA Fraud Alerts). A legitimate company names itself in the first sentence and never poses as FMCSA or a government "DOT compliance department". If a caller blurs that line, treat the call as fake.
FMCSA's public Fraud Alerts page, last updated September 11, 2026, shows screenshots of the fakes it has seen, and its January alert says such emails are "designed to steal sensitive information or demand illegal payments." Months come from the screenshots FMCSA posted; rows without a month are older warnings the page still carries. The list is not complete: check the FMCSA page for new variants.
| Scheme | How it arrives | What it wants | The tell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fake Motus | Email "Notice of Required Off-Cycle Update- Motus email" (screenshots from August 2026) | Your login on a copied "New MOTUS Portal" | The link is not on motus.dot.gov, the only real address (FMCSA notes the name is not an acronym) |
| SAFER impersonation | Email from senders mostly on .info and .pro domains (January 2026) | That you "verify a payment and fuel system" on your MC or DOT | Real SAFER is safer.fmcsa.dot.gov; federal sites end in .gov |
| Fake audit request | Email from a named "auditor" (June 2026) | Carrier details and personal data | Real audit mail comes from an FMCSA mailbox or the state agency |
| "Incomplete carrier profile" | Email with a link (May 2026) | A click to "complete" the profile | Routine updates are always started by you |
| "Not authorized" status | Email (April 2026) | A click to "check your record" | Check SAFER or Motus public search yourself |
| "Action required" from a state officer | Email citing a California Highway Patrol .gov address and a phone number | Audit documents through a non-government link | A .gov name is not proof; call your FMCSA Division Office |
| Fake headers, attached forms | Lookalike senders such as safety@fmcsa.gov (real FMCSA mail is @dot.gov) | SSN and USDOT PIN, plus "respond within a day or be fined" | FMCSA: official forms do not require this, and the one-day fine is not its practice |
| Fake safety-audit form | A SAFER-looking link | An MCS-150 copy with PIN, EIN and SSN fields | FMCSA: this data would let the sender into your FMCSA account |
| Fraudulent "SAP" | Call or message to a driver | CDL number, date of birth, name, then money | See the Clearinghouse section below |
| Telemarketing | Calls and robocalls posing as FMCSA, often right after you file | A card number, a fee for "forms" | FMCSA uses no telemarketers or robocalls and charges nothing for forms |
Behind every logo sit the same two things: a deadline of hours or a single day, and a link, number or attachment the sender supplied. Both exist to stop you from checking on your own.
These calls rarely reach the owner first. They land on the dispatcher mid-load, the bookkeeper with the company card or a driver at a fuel island, so the script must fit in memory. It is card 10 from "Three Minutes on the Line", a book by Dmitry Borovoy in preparation (working title): one first line, three closed questions, one instruction, and the minute you talk next.
| Minute | You say | You find out | You do |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. You took the "FMCSA" call yourself | |||
| 0:00 | "I don't pay and don't give out data on an incoming call. What exactly do you need?" | Card, bank, SSN, EIN, PIN or a Login.gov code? | Write down the number, the name, the time |
| 0:30 | "Your name, office and case number? What happens if I don't do it today?" | Is there a deadline in hours, a threat of shutdown or a fine? | Stay flat: a deadline plus a payment is the fraud pattern |
| 1:30 | "I'll check with FMCSA on the public number. Goodbye." | Nothing more | Hang up first; never call back their number |
| 2:00 | To FMCSA: "Is anything open on our USDOT number? Did FMCSA try to reach us?" | Whether real contact, such as a New Entrant call, exists | If it is real, ask which number to call back |
| B. Your dispatcher, bookkeeper or driver calls you about it | |||
| 0:00 | "I'm on the line. Don't pay anyone and don't read out anything. What exactly did they ask for?" | Is the caller still on the other line? | If so: "Say you'll call back, and hang up." |
| 0:15 | "Card, bank, SSN, EIN, PIN or a code: which?" "What number, what name?" "Did they say within the hour?" | Did anything already go out? | One question at a time |
| 1:30 | "Hang up and send nothing. I'm calling FMCSA myself at 1-800-832-5660." | Nothing: it is an instruction | Repeat it in the same words if needed |
| 2:30 | "Forward me the email without clicking and text me the number. I call you at 10:40." | Who does what next | Set a timer; if data went out, use the checklist below |
Two follow-ups are common. The caller rings back and leans on the deadline: repeat your first sentence word for word and hang up. Or FMCSA confirms the contact was real, usually the New Entrant Contact Center checking a fresh registration: ask FMCSA which number to call back, answer, and note the date. Checking cost ten minutes; a missed New Entrant call can cost the registration.
Use a number or an address you found yourself, never one from the message. For links, FMCSA says to hover and read the real address before clicking; for calls, hang up and dial out.
Speed matters more than blame. The person who slipped knows exactly what went out, so ask "what did you give them", not "how could you".
| When | Step | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First 15 minutes | Call the bank or card issuer: dispute or stop the payment, block the card or account that went out | A payment caught the same day is easier to stop |
| First hour | Change the Login.gov password and remove any second factor you do not recognize; if a Login.gov code was read out, assume someone signed in; if you are locked out, sign-in help is at login.gov/contact, not FMCSA | Login.gov opens Motus, the Clearinghouse and the New Entrant website |
| First hour | In Motus, remove any user profile on the company account you did not invite | FMCSA: profiles are unique to one person, and the main account holder invites the others (AskFMCSA) |
| Same day | Check SAFER and Motus public search: are the phone, email and address still yours? If not, open a Contact Center ticket saying it was changed without you | PINs and notices go to the contacts on file |
| Same day | Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov (FMCSA's orgcode), the FBI's IC3, local police, your state attorney general and an FMCSA ticket. Optional: the DOT Inspector General hotline, (800) 424-9071 | FMCSA's own reporting list; the OIG takes fraud affecting DOT programs |
| Following days | If an SSN went out, report it at IdentityTheft.gov (FTC) and get a recovery plan. If an SSN or EIN went out, ask your accountant and bank to watch for accounts or filings in your name; watch inspections and loads | Stolen company data is often used later |
If your identity then shows up on the road, with inspections or loads that are not yours, switch to our first-48-hours plan for a cloned DOT number; for freight booked in your name, see double brokering and freight fraud. Their reporting steps are not repeated here.
This one targets drivers. Someone posing as a Substance Abuse Professional who will "resolve open violations", or as an employer ready to report negative results, gets the driver's CDL number, date of birth and full name. The Clearinghouse notice of January 16, 2026 adds the second act: the scammer "improves" the record for a payment, then demands more under the threat of entering false violations (Clearinghouse).
Three rules help you see through it, but they do not make the threat empty: the same notice says these scams are already putting incorrect data into the Clearinghouse. A SAP cannot enter return-to-duty information until the driver designates that SAP (49 CFR 382.715(b)). No driver may be required to pay to see his own record (382.721). FMCSA notifies the driver of changes by mail or the method he chose (382.707), not through a stranger's call.
The driver's two lines: "I don't give my CDL number or date of birth on an incoming call. My company will check with the Clearinghouse." Once parked, a screenshot and a call to you: a hand-held phone is off-limits while driving a CMV (49 CFR 392.82). FMCSA's advice: do not respond, notify the Clearinghouse Team. A driver with a real violation checks his SAP against 49 CFR 40.281; there is no paid shortcut. After any such contact the driver opens his own record through Login.gov and checks it; how, and what to do about a false entry, is covered in our Clearinghouse driver registration guide.
In a small company the fix is not software. It is five decisions made on a quiet day and written on one page.
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Sometimes. The New Entrant Contact Center calls new carriers within 90 days after registration to confirm their data, and not answering can lead to revocation. FMCSA does not call right after you file, use robocalls or take a card by phone. Unsure? Hang up and call 1-800-832-5660 yourself.
The FMCSA texts carriers know of are ones you start: a USDOT PIN requested on SAFER goes to the contact on file by email or text, and Login.gov can text a code while you sign in. FMCSA says routine updates are always user-initiated, so an unexpected text with a link to update, verify or pay is not from FMCSA.
No. FMCSA's alert of January 30, 2026 says it never requests a PIN, SSN, EIN, UCR payment or bank details through unsolicited messages, and Motus registration does not need a PIN. In the wrong hands it opens your FMCSA account. Do not click; report it.
Phishing. FMCSA's Fraud Alerts page shows it with August 2026 screenshots: a button to a "New MOTUS Portal" on a non-government domain. The real system is motus.dot.gov, and updates there start with your own Login.gov sign-in. Report it to the FTC and FMCSA.
Act within the hour: call the bank if money or account numbers went out, change the Login.gov password and second factors, remove unknown users in Motus, confirm your phone and email on SAFER, then report to the FTC, IC3 and FMCSA and watch for inspections under your number.
FMCSA's own list: the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov with FMCSA's orgcode, the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov, local police, your state attorney general, and the FMCSA Contact Center at ask.fmcsa.dot.gov or 1-800-832-5660. A fake SAP call to a driver goes to the Clearinghouse Team.
Yes. The New Entrant Contact Center calls within 90 days after registration to confirm your data, and no response can cost the registration. Verify first at 1-877-905-8016.
It can look like one. FMCSA shows fake senders such as safety@fmcsa.gov, whose link leads to another domain, and a fake notice using a state .gov address. Verify by phone.
No. FMCSA says it does not charge a fee for its downloadable forms and does not ask for a card number by phone. Fees, where they exist, are paid in the system you open yourself.
Yes. Your USDOT number, company name, address and phone are public: FMCSA publishes them on purpose. Knowing them proves nothing, so verify at 1-800-832-5660.
No. Motus registration does not need it, and FMCSA does not ask for it in unsolicited calls or emails. Whoever asks is trying to get into your account.
Treat it as the scheme FMCSA warns about. There is no paid shortcut past the return-to-duty process and follow-up tests. Do not answer; notify the Clearinghouse Team.
It can be. FMCSA says such surveys may come from a non-.gov address but ask for feedback only. A survey that asks for a PIN, SSN, card or login is fake.
It can happen once someone is inside your account. Check SAFER and Motus public search; if anything changed without you, open a ticket at ask.fmcsa.dot.gov or call 1-800-832-5660.