Have you been the victim of a text message scam claiming you owe money for unpaid tolls? Tell us your story.
"You have an unpaid toll bill on your account. To avoid late fees, pay within 12 hours or the late fees will be increased and reported to the DMV," a text message received last week by this reporter stated.
But federal and state officials are warning people not to fall for it.
"Whether you've driven through a toll recently or not, you might've gotten a text saying you owe money for unpaid tolls. It's probably a scam," the Federal Trade Commission stated in a consumer alert posted last month. "Scammers are pretending to be tolling agencies from coast to coast and sending texts demanding money."
In California, many of the fraudulent messages claim to be sent from FasTrak, the state's electronic toll collection system. In northeastern states with electronic toll payments, some messages say they are from E-ZPass.
'The texts claim the recipient owes money for unpaid tolls and contain almost identical language,' the FBI said in a recent warning. 'The 'outstanding toll amount' is similar among the complaints reported to the IC3 (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center). However, the link provided within the text is created to impersonate the state's toll service name, and phone numbers appear to change between states.'
Officials say there's a reason for the uptick in the number of fake, unpaid toll text messages people are receiving: They work.
'Scammers have become skilled at imitating legitimate companies, sometimes even linking to legitimate websites. Text-based toll charge scams are prevalent right now and knowing what to look for can keep consumers safe against these tactics,' California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a press release last month.
If you've been the victim of a toll road scam, we'd like to hear about your experience. Fill out the questionnaire below, and we'll publish some of the responses in a future article.
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