FMCSA Alerts Trucking Industry to Four Fake Motus Registration Sites — Beware Phishing Emails

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is warning trucking companies about a phishing campaign that impersonates the agency's new Motus registration system. Fraudulent emails direct recipients to imitation sites and insist an "off-cycle" profile update requires immediate action. Regulators urge carriers, brokers and other industry users to verify every web address before clicking links or supplying credentials.

What FMCSA reported

"Latest reports indicate that bad actors have started to impersonate the Motus website application," the FMCSA said. The legitimate Motus service is hosted at motus.dot.gov. Scam messages label their destination the "New MOTUS Portal," using all-caps — a red flag, FMCSA officials noted — because the program name is consistently styled as Motus.

Confirmed real and fake URLs

• Real: motus.dot.gov
• Fake (identified by FMCSA):
  • dot.motusdatasboard.com
  • dot.motusdatadesk.com
  • dot.motuswebdeck.com
  • dot.motusfunction.com

The campaign typically uses the subject line "Notice of Required Off-Cycle Update- Motus email". Messages include a prominent "New MOTUS Portal" button that redirects users to an external site. FMCSA advises recipients to check every link and domain carefully before taking any action.

Context and timing

FMCSA launched Motus on May 19, 2026 as the U.S. Department of Transportation's new registration platform, consolidating carrier, broker and other regulated-entity applications and updates. Registered users sign in through Login.gov. To ease the transition, FMCSA temporarily suspended enforcement of biennial updates on September 10, 2026, and paused USDOT-number inactivation for missed filings after June 1; unsolicited emails or external website prompts do not override those instructions.

FMCSA's advisory includes a screenshot dated August 2026, and its rolling alert page shows an update dated September 11; the agency cautions that the page timestamp applies to the full advisory rather than to each individual item.

What victims and targets should do

Do not click links or enter credentials on any site that is not motus.dot.gov. If you receive a suspicious Motus-related email, report it to appropriate authorities: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), your state attorney general, or local police. FMCSA handles registration questions at 1-800-832-5660.

Complaints and reports help authorities track the campaign. FMCSA has not disclosed when the campaign began, how many recipients were targeted, or whether any accounts or registrations have been compromised. Officials also have not connected the fake pages to cargo theft or other criminal activity.

Industry perspective

Carrier registration records are used by brokers and shippers to verify who controls a trucking company; a successful account takeover could undermine identity safeguards that rely on federal registration data. In FreightWaves' view, CFCO training helps freight teams develop practical habits for spotting impersonation attempts before criminals capture credentials. The program emphasizes identity verification, stronger access controls, routine domain reviews and clear escalation procedures—practices that encourage employees to pause and report suspicious requests.

If you want additional context or updates, FreightWaves said it has requested more information from FMCSA and will update its coverage if officials respond.

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