The FBI is warning Americans about those texts claiming the recipient has unpaid tolls, saying it believes the scam campaign is being waged from China.
The texts claim that the recipient has driven through toll booths without paying and that cameras captured the vehicle’s license plate. The FBI said the message is a scam and that recipients should delete the messages and never click on the enclosed link.
The FBI began issuing warnings about this scam last year, reporting at the time that it had received more than 2,000 complaints. The law enforcement agency now says the scammers appear to be moving from state to state, sometimes posing at E-ZPass.
E-ZPass is an automated toll-collection device that makes contact with an electronic device on the vehicle’s windshield and charges the toll to a user’s credit card. Therefore, an E-ZPass customer would never have an unpaid toll.
The FTC’s advice
The Federal Trade Commission has also issued warnings about the scam. In January the agency warned Americans the scammers are trying to steal both money and personal information.
'Don’t click on any links in, or respond to, unexpected texts,” the FTC said in a statement. “Scammers want you to react quickly, but it’s best to stop and check it out.”
To avoid being victimized by these scams, the FTC offers this advice:
Don’t click on any links in, or respond to, unexpected texts. Scammers want you to react quickly, but it’s best to stop and check it out.
Check to see if the text is legit. Reach out to the state’s tolling agency using a phone number or website you know is real — not the info from the text.
Report and delete unwanted text messages. Use your phone’s “report junk” option to report unwanted texts to your messaging app or forward them to 7726 (SPAM). Once you’ve checked it out and reported it, delete the text.