text: DALLAS (AP) — Electronic construction signs in the Dallas area appear to have been hacked, displaying messages calling Donald Trump a reptile and imploring early morning commuters to take a day off work. 
   
   The portable signs along Interstate 30 and elsewhere flashed messages early Tuesday including, "Donald Trump is a ... shape shifting lizard!" Another message read, "Bernie for president," referring to Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. 
   
   Another sign said: "Work is canceled. Go back home." 
   
   The signs appear to be ones used by the Texas Department of Transportation. 
   
   TxDOT told Dallas-Fort Worth broadcaster KRLD that there's no humor in what the hackers did. The agency says the messages bumped warnings to motorists about nearby construction zones. 
   
   The Associated Press left a message for a TxDOT spokesman seeking comment. ||||| Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter 
   
   DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is drawing either the ire or mirth of some protesters who hacked a Texas Department of Transportation sign in Dallas. The same roadside sign has now been changed twice in less than 48 hours. 
   
   The sign, located along westbound Interstate-30 at Cockrell Hill Road in Dallas, was first changed over the long Memorial Day weekend. The new message read “Party Hardy Yall!” That prompted a swift response from TxDOT officials on Monday. “It has been removed,” said TxDOT spokesman Tony Hartzel. “And the contractor has taken steps to secure the sign.” 
   
   I don't think @TxDOT really meant to send this msg to drivers off i30 today in Dallas. 🤔. Spotted today pic.twitter.com/IKZ6EHeoyQ — Michelle Rodriguez (@michrod) May 30, 2016 
   
   However, at some point either late Monday night or early Tuesday, hackers struck again. But, this time, they posted political messages on two TxDOT boards, both along Interstate-30, just a short distance away from each other. The first was an attack on Trump, calling him a “Shape Shifting Lizard.” 
   
   The second sign simply said “Bernie For President” in support of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. A third sign was also hacked, but not with a political message. It told Tuesday morning commuters “Work is canceled. Go back home.” All of the signs have since been returned to their normal messages. 
   
   The signs are meant to warn drivers about road construction in the area, and hacking them is not easy. The perpetrator had to cut a lock off of a box and reset the sign’s passwords. Whether it was a prank or serious political message, TxDOT officials said that this is no laughing matter. “It would seem the people behind it think it’s funny,” explained Ryan LaFontaine with TxDOT on Tuesday. “We’re talking about a serious issue that could cause very serious problems if drivers don’t get the messages.” 
   
   Before the political hack, Hartzel added, “Due to safety concerns, we strongly discourage people from stopping in work zones to create situations such as this.” In fact, hacking these roadside signs is a third-degree felony. What do you think about all of this? Go to our Facebook page and weigh in on the issue. ||||| The messages on three electronic road signs in Dallas were changed during the Memorial Day weekend. (Published Tuesday, May 31, 2016) 
   
   Someone altered three Texas Department of Transportation electronic road signs over the holiday weekend and made their political preferences known to the world. 
   
   The portable signs — which typically display messages like "Exit Closed" or "Lanes Shift Ahead" — read "Bernie for President" and "Donald Trump Is a Shape-Shifting Lizard" during the morning commute Tuesday. Workers with TxDOT began turning the signs off shortly before 6 a.m. 
   
   All the signs were found in west Dallas. The "Trump" sign greeted drivers headed west on Interstate 30 as they approach the Cockrell Hill Road exit. The "Bernie" sign was positioned nearby on Westmoreland Road beneath I-30. 
   
   A third sign that read "Work Is Canceled — Go Back Home" was later found on Westmoreland Road, just north of I-30. 
   
   TxDOT officials said the signs belong to a contractor who has been performing work along I-30. They believe the signs were turned off and locked before the holiday weekend. 
   
   According to TxDOT spokesman Ryan LaFontaine, who is concerned about the hacker's "boldness," the signs cannot be altered remotely and must be changed manually at the control panels. 
   
   "You have to actually be there," he said. "Power it up and get in there and break the password." 
   
   Similar situations have been reported across the country, with those responsible gaining access to the electronic sign’s control panel and changing the message it displays. 
   
   "Any sort of tampering with that sort of stuff is a third-degree felony and it's punishable. We're talking prison time," LaFontaine said. "It's not something that's taken lightly be any means." 
   
   A third-degree felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. LaFontaine says if anyone notices suspicious activity around portable signs, especially when there is no construction, to contact TXDOT or local police. 
   
   NBC 5's Chris Van Horne and Tim Ciesco contributed to this report.
target: – Electronic construction signs in the Dallas area appear to have been hacked, displaying messages calling Donald Trump a reptile and imploring early morning commuters to take a day off work, the AP reports. The portable signs along Interstate 30 and elsewhere flashed various messages early Tuesday, including "Donald Trump is a ... shape shifting lizard!" Another message read, "Bernie for president," while still another sign said: "Work is canceled. Go back home." The signs appear to be ones used by the Texas Department of Transportation, and it wasn't the first time they were hacked: CBS-DFW notes that sometime over Memorial Day weekend, one of the signs had been changed to read "Party Hardy Yall." That message was removed by Monday, and the sign was ostensibly secured by the contractor against further vandalism, a TxDot rep says—but the new hacked messages popped up after someone again broke into the system late Monday or early Tuesday. And it's not a snap-your-fingers task to fix, per NBC-DFW: The signs can't be operated remotely, so any modifications have to be done manually via the control panels. TxDOT tells Dallas-Fort Worth broadcaster KRLD that there's no humor in what the hackers did. The agency says the messages bumped warnings to motorists about nearby construction zones.