New Jersey court text scam 2026 what to do

It landed on my phone over the weekend. I read it once. Then I read it again.

NEW JERSEY: URGENT JUDICIAL RESOLUTION REQUIRED

It had a case reference number. Assigned officials with ID numbers. A judge's name. A clerk's name. A deadline — April 27, 2026. A link to what appeared to be a New Jersey government website. Threats of license suspension, collections, litigation and something called "automatic enforcement protocols."

I knew immediately it was a scam. But I will be honest with you — for about half a second before my brain kicked in, something in me went cold. That is exactly what these people are counting on.

I have heard from others who received the same text this weekend. This one is making the rounds right now in New Jersey and it is more sophisticated than the versions we have seen before.

What makes this one different

I wrote about a similar scam back in January — that one impersonated the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission threatening unpaid traffic fines. This new version has evolved. Instead of the MVC it is now impersonating the New Jersey court system directly. It invents a fake case number — NJ-CD-2026-CV-25678. It names fake officials — B. Melville, Judge C. Abraham, Clerk M. Brook — with official-looking ID numbers. It sets a specific deadline. And it threatens consequences that escalate with every bullet point.

The link it provides — nj.gov-ajqm.shop/pay — is the tell. Real New Jersey government websites always end in .nj.gov. If the link ends in anything else it is a fraud. The scammers know this so they put "nj.gov" at the beginning of the fake domain to fool you. Do not be fooled.

What the real NJ court system will never do

The New Jersey Judiciary has confirmed it is aware of this scam. Their official statement is clear: the Judiciary never initiates unsolicited texts or emails threatening enforcement actions. If you have a legitimate traffic ticket or court matter, you can access NJMCDirect through njcourts.gov directly — never through a link someone texted you.

The NJMVC also does not initiate unsolicited text messages demanding payment. All MVC text communications are limited to appointment reminders only. That is it. Nothing else.

Why people fall for it

In 2024 Americans lost $470 million to text scams — five times more than in 2020. The number keeps growing because the scams keep getting smarter. This one works because it weaponizes two things simultaneously — official-looking language and a tight deadline. The case number feels real. The judge's name feels real. April 27th feels urgent. If you have ever had a traffic ticket, a court summons, an unpaid fine — anything — that half-second of cold recognition is enough to make some people click before they think.

That split second of fear is the entire business model.

What to do right now

If you received this text — or anything like it — here is exactly what to do:

Do not click the link. Do not reply. Do not call any number provided in the message.

If you are genuinely unsure whether you have a legitimate court matter, go directly to njcourts.gov and look it up yourself. Never through a link someone sent you.

Forward the scam text to 7726 — that spells SPAM on your keypad — which reports it to your carrier and helps get the number blocked for everyone.

Report it to the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell at cyber.nj.gov and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Then delete it and move on.

The bottom line

The New Jersey court system will not text you a deadline. A real judge does not send payment links to your iPhone. And no legitimate government agency in the state of New Jersey will ever threaten you with "automatic enforcement protocols" via a text message.

If it landed on your phone and made your stomach drop for half a second — that was the point. You recognized it for what it was. Not everyone does.

Share this with someone who might not.