SOS Warns About Fake Websites

Michigan residents are being warned about paying for online Secretary of State services without first checking that the website they’re using is the official Michigan.gov site. The warning was issued Wednesday by Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson. She says her staff members are receiving more and more complaints from customers who believed they visited a Secretary of State website to complete a transaction and paid a fee, only to later find that the fee did not go to the state, and they did not get the services they needed. These sites misleadingly charge for services or information that are normally available at no cost on the official department website. The unofficial sites often give the initial impression of being a Department of Motor Vehicle website but a closer look can reveal a notification they are not affiliated with a government agency.