Hackers Breach New York's Text Messaging System, Unleash Scam Texts

On November 10th, 2025, hackers breached the systems of Mobile Commons, a text messaging service used by the New York state government, as well as other organizations. During the four-hour period when the hackers had access, they sent scam texts to around 160,000 of the 188,000 New Yorkers subscribed to receive state updates via text.

The scam texts claimed the recipient had a declined bank transaction involving a large sum of money and urged them to call a toll-free number to resolve the issue. However, these transactions did not actually exist, and the goal was to convince people to provide their personal and financial information to the scammers.

While Mobile Commons stated that user data was not accessed during the breach, it remains unclear how many people fell victim to the scam and suffered financial losses as a result. Authorities are investigating the incident, and the state's Office of Information Technology Services is working to secure its systems and prevent similar breaches in the future.