Fake texts claiming you owe an unpaid toll are aimed at drivers on fall trips, and one tap on the link can expose your card details.
Fake text messages claiming you owe an unpaid toll are circulating, and the Federal Trade Commission says scammers time them for when people are traveling. With fall road trips underway, the goal is to steal card numbers, bank account details and other personal information.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received complaints about texts that pretend to come from toll companies. The names used include E-ZPass in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, FasTrak in California and I-PASS in Illinois. The message says you owe a balance and your account will be suspended unless you pay right away.
The FCC lists several red flags. Toll operators typically do not use text messages to collect on overdue accounts. Other warning signs are a sender number from another country, several recipient numbers listed on the message, and a generic greeting instead of your name. The text may also demand payment through a link, a wire transfer or a gift card.
An FTC spokesperson told Travel + Leisure that scammers strike when they are most likely to succeed, such as when people are traveling and running into tolls. A driver who just passed through a toll booth may find the message easy to believe. The writer of the original article, who describes themselves as cautious about scams, said they almost fell for it several times.
The material does not say how many people have received these texts or how much money has been lost. It also does not say whether the messages are limited to the three toll systems named.
The alert box above lists the steps to take. The core idea is to stop and check. If the text worries you, contact your state tolling agency using a phone number or website you know is real, never the details in the message.
If a text says you owe a toll, do not tap the link. Check with the toll agency using contact details you know are real.
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