FMCSA is warning motor carriers about a Motus scam that uses emails designed to look like a required registration-system update. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, recipients have received an FMCSA scam email with the subject line “Notice of Required Off-Cycle Update- Motus email.” The message urges the recipient to update a carrier profile by clicking a link labeled “New MOTUS Portal.” The linked portal is fraudulent.
Carriers who receive the message should not click the email link. Instead, anyone who needs to access the real registration system should navigate separately to the verified FMCSA Motus address: motus.dot.gov. FMCSA identifies that as the legitimate Motus website. FMCSA’s published warning does not state how many carriers received the message, how many entered information into the fraudulent sites, or whether any specific financial losses resulted. Those figures should not be assumed.
What Did FMCSA Say About the Motus Scam?
The warning concerns scammers impersonating Motus, FMCSA’s actual USDOT Registration System. That distinction is important. Motus itself is real. The “New MOTUS Portal” promoted through the scam emails is not. FMCSA says bad actors have begun impersonating the legitimate Motus application and directing carriers to websites that mimic the registration system. The agency also points out a small but noticeable clue: Motus is a name, not an acronym, and FMCSA does not write it as “MOTUS” in all capital letters. The reported email uses the subject line: Notice of Required Off-Cycle Update- Motus email
It then asks the recipient to click a “New MOTUS Portal” link to update the company’s profile. That request can appear plausible because Motus is a genuine FMCSA registration system, and motor carriers already have legitimate reasons to keep registration information current. The scam relies on that familiarity. Instead of directing the user to FMCSA’s official motus.dot.gov system, the link leads to an imitation site.
How to Identify the Fake Motus Email
The Motus phishing email has several recognizable details. First, check the subject line. FMCSA specifically reports messages titled: “Notice of Required Off-Cycle Update- Motus email.”
Second, the message tells the carrier that a profile update is required and provides a button or link described as a “New MOTUS Portal.” Most importantly, check where the link actually leads. FMCSA has identified the following bogus destinations:
- dot.motusdatasboard.com
- dot.motusdatadesk.com
- dot.motuswebdeck.com
- dot.motusfunction.com
These addresses are shown here only as examples from FMCSA’s warning and are intentionally not clickable. The legitimate registration website is motus.dot.gov. FMCSA advises recipients to hover over suspicious links before clicking them so they can inspect the actual destination. The text displayed in an email does not necessarily have to match the webpage that opens when someone clicks it.
The four domains above also should not be treated as a complete list of every possible fake Motus site. Scammers can change domain names, so carriers should verify the destination rather than relying only on whether a suspicious address appears on a known list. For this particular FMCSA scam email, the safest comparison is the official government address itself.
What Should Carriers Do If They Receive the Email?
If an unexpected email says your Motus profile requires an update, avoid using the link inside the message.
Instead:
- Do not click a suspicious link.
- Hover over the link to inspect its actual destination.
- If you need to access your registration record, go separately to motus.dot.gov rather than entering through the email.
- Contact FMCSA if you are unsure whether the communication is legitimate.
FMCSA says carriers targeted by these practices can contact the FMCSA Contact Center at 800-832-5660. The agency also directs people to report scams and suspicious communications to the Federal Trade Commission. Report fraud to the FTC FMCSA additionally lists the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center as a reporting option. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center Local police or a state attorney general’s office may also be contacted for assistance, according to FMCSA’s fraud guidance.
What if You Already Entered Information?
FMCSA’s Motus alert primarily tells carriers how to avoid suspicious links and where to report fraudulent communications. If someone has already entered credentials or company information into a fake Motus portal, an additional precaution is to contact FMCSA promptly and secure any potentially affected account or login information. That is precautionary cybersecurity advice rather than a separate step specifically listed in FMCSA’s Motus alert. If financial information was also provided, the carrier should consider contacting the relevant financial institution and reporting the incident through the official fraud channels appropriate to what was disclosed. The important point is not to continue interacting with the suspicious portal while trying to correct the problem.
Why Does This Scam Matter for Motor Carriers?
This particular scam takes advantage of something carriers routinely have to think about: maintaining accurate federal registration information. That can make the message more convincing than a completely unrelated phishing email. FMCSA launched Motus as its new USDOT Registration System in 2026, and the agency continues to direct carriers and other registrants to the system for registration activity. A message claiming that a carrier needs to update its Motus profile can therefore look like a normal administrative request at first glance.
