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USA Today
22-02-2025
- USA Today
Toll road scams are back: What to do if you get a text saying you owe money
Toll road scams are back: What to do if you get a text saying you owe money Show Caption Hide Caption Federal officials warn of unpaid toll scam texts coast to coast People across the country are getting scam texts demanding they cough up unpaid tolls or else. Here's what you need to know. Straight Arrow News A popular text message scam continues to rear its ugly head on phones across the U.S., demanding money from consumers for fake unpaid tolls. These texts generally try to impersonate the toll service in your state - for example, if you live in California, the text will likely say it's from FastTrak. If you live in New York, or one of the 19 other states that use EZ Pass, it will probably claim to be from them. Some of the texts will include links to a dupe website with a URL and a webpage designed to look like the real thing. Scammers aren't perfect, though - if you get a text claiming to be from the toll service in a state you haven't been to recently or ever, that's a safe sign it's likely a fake, as are texts with misspellings or links that don't match the name of the legitimate toll service website. Here's what to know about the scam and how to check if you have unpaid tolls. What the unpaid toll scam texts look like The scam texts can be more or less specific, like one out of Florida reading, "Please pay your toll in Florida by January 21, 2025. In order to avoid excessive late fees and potential legal action on statements, please pay your tolls in time. Thank you for your cooperation and wish you a pleasant holiday. Some may even ask you to copy and paste a link into your browser instead of clicking through it directly. An example of one such text reads as follows: "Pay your FastTrak Lane tolls by February 13, 2025. To avoid a fine and keep your license, you can pay at (Please reply Y, then exit the text message and open it again to activate the link, or copy the link into your Safari browser and open it)." USA TODAY staff in Washington D.C., Miami., New York City, Indianapolis and New Jersey confirmed receiving at least one version of the same text messages − or variations of them − in the last two weeks. FBI, FTC aware of "coast to coast" toll scams Last April, the FBI reported receiving more than 2,000 complaints reporting smishing scams representing toll road collection services in three states. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) put out a fresh notice in January, saying scammers are again pretending to be toll agencies from "coast to coast." "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," said the FTC advisory. "Not only is the scammer trying to steal your money, but if you click the link, they could get your personal info." What is 'smishing'? "Smishing" is a social engineering attack that uses fake text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or sending money to hackers, according to IBM. The term is a combination of "SMS" or "short message service" and "phishing," an umbrella term for social engineering attacks. What to do if you receive a toll road scam text If you receive a toll agency text message demanding money, the FBI and FTC suggest to do the following:
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Unpaid tolls? Text scam looks to steal your money and information
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Have you received a text message warning about an unpaid toll bill? It's likely a 'smishing' scam that could steal your money and information. A few variations of this scam have been circulating in the Charleston area over the past few weeks. Messages include warning users that they must pay their 'FastTrak Lane tolls' by a certain date to avoid a fine and keep their license. The messages are followed by a link to pay your bill. Officials warn that message recipients should not click the link or engage with the messages. While FasTrak is a legitimate transportation service out of California, the company said they will never request payment by text with a link to a website. 'The websites provided are fraudulent and are not related to FasTrak, so please do not use them to pay tolls. FasTrak does not request payment by text with a link to a website,' the company said in a statement on its website. The FBI also issued a warning about the so-called smishing attempts and provided an outline for filing a complaint with its Internet Crime Complaint Center: File a complaint with the IC3, be sure to include: The phone number from where the text originated. The website listed within the text Check your account using the toll service's legitimate website. Contact the toll service's customer service phone number. Delete any smishing texts received. If you clicked any link or provided your information, take efforts to secure your personal information and financial accounts. Dispute any unfamiliar charges. According to the FBI, smishing is a social engineering attack that uses fake text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information, or sending money to cyber criminals. Bottom line: If you receive one of these texts, do not engage. If unsure, you should fully vet the message before clicking links or responding. The best option is to delete and/or report the message online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
