More than 200 people showed up at a Colorado court to answer for parking violations, only to find they'd fallen victim to a rampant text scam.
Dozens of people arrived at the Denver City and County building at 9am on May 1, each of whom received an 'urgent' text demanding they answer for traffic violations.
The Colorado State Patrol said scammers sent out an elaborate document that encouraged recipients to scan a QR code and pay for their purported driving infractions.
Otherwise, per the notice, the recipient was 'required' to appear in court bright and early last Friday.
'You are hereby required to take IMMEDIATE AND Complete ACTION to resolve this matter,' read the forged document.
'Remit FULL PAYMENT IN TOTAL of all outstanding fines, penalties, court costs and applicable enforcement fees OR appear before the Court at the scheduled hearing date to respond to this matter.'
The form listed several consequences for those who failed to comply, including 'suspension of driving privileges, statewide vehicle registration hold, and referral to authorized collections and recovery proceeding.'
In reality, the QR code would give scammers access to the victims' credit card information, allowing them to swipe as much money as they wanted.
Hundreds of Colorado residents received an 'urgent' text last week claiming they owed money for traffic infractions
Victims showed up at the Denver City and County building to answer for their alleged traffic violations only to discover that the message was a scam
Raelynn Kilgore (right) and Kenny Teitsort (left) rushed through their morning and raced to the court after receiving the daunting text
While some realized the daunting text was a scam, many chose to show up for court, figuring they were better safe than sorry, reported Denver7.
Raelynn Kilgore and Kenny Teitsort were among those who panicked the moment the text came through and rearranged their morning plans to answer the summons.
'So we showed up this morning, and we hassled to get the kids to school and everything else, and then we make it here, and they told us that it's a scam,' Kilgore told Denver 7.
Norbert Rugerio told 9News that his 'heart dropped' as soon as he got the message.
'I just went in, went down to the first floor, and then they told me it was a scam,' he said.
So many people flooded the courthouse that day that a print-out of the notice was posted on the door, stating in bold letters that it was, in fact, a scam.
Others called the Colorado District Court before willingly scanning the QR code and giving their credit card information to a suspicious source.
Most recipients received an official-looking notice (pictured) with a QR code through which they could pay their faux fine
So many people arrived to answer their summons that the court placed a notice on the door
'We are receiving many calls from individuals who received a text from the "State of Colorado - In the District of Colorado - For Denver County - Traffic Division" informing the recipient that they have been found delinquent and in default for some undefined traffic violation,' read a notice on the court's website.
'The notice includes a QR code that encourages the recipient to scan to pay. THIS IS A SCAM. If you have received any such notice, disregard it, delete it, block the number and DO NOT SCAN THE QR Code.'
Colorado District Court spokesperson Carolyn Tyler told KDVR that, although the information appeared very legitimate, the court would never contact residents via text message.
'It's quite convincing, frankly, but it's totally bogus,' Tyler said.
'The court, first of all, will not text you to say that you owe money. So if you receive a text that is just wrong.'
According to Tyler, scammers rely on a 'sense of urgency' to swindle victims out of their money in a panicked state.
'You've failed to do something, you must act now or else,' she explained. 'If you are getting communications, text messages, calls, emails that have that sense of urgency, that should be the first read flag.'
County Court Spokesperson Carolyn Tyler said that the court does not contact residents via text message
Official notices are typically issued by mail and include the person's full name, case number and specific identifying information.
According to the Denver Post, courts in several other states, including Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, South Dakota and Virginia have recently reported similar scams.
Colorado Police have encouraged anyone who gets a text message demanding they appear in court or pay money to report it to local police.
Victims can also report the scam messages to the Colorado Attorney General's Office or the Denver District Attorney's consumer fraud hotline.
The Daily Mail contacted the Colorado State Patrol and the District Court of Colorado for more information.