The California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) has received disturbing reports that many gun owners are receiving text messages on their personal phones claiming that there is an immediate deadline to get a CCW from their County Sheriffs office, along with a link to an application form. Be warned, this is a FRAUD, a SCAM. Do NOT click on the link — it could be used to steal valuable personal information.

CRPA has been advised by numerous Sheriff’s offices that there is a nationwide text message scam targeting citizens with CCW permits.

Those targeted by this scam have received text messages alerting them that their permit needs to be renewed or changed and offers a link to provide the user’s information.

This fraud is happening not just in CA, but other states as well. These text messages are being sent randomly from phone numbers to people across the entire nation.

DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

It appears this latest attack on gun owners is a sinister, illegal attempt to obtain their personal information. If you receive a text message like this, CRPA advises you to DELETE the MESSSAGE from your phone and BLOCK the number from which it was sent. You may have to go to the call history to see the number.

For updates on this text scam issue, you can subscribe to email alerts by visiting the CRPA.org website. The California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA), founded in 1875, is a nonprofit, donor-supported organization with tens of thousands of members throughout California. CRPA’s membership is comprised of a cross-section of the general public including competitive marksmen, recreational shooters, hunters, shooting instructors, attorneys, and law enforcement officers.