Government agencies are renewing their warnings about the “unpaid toll” scam that usually arrives in the form of a text. The text claims the recipient has one or more unpaid tolls and offers a strange way to pay.
In recent years, highway authorities have phased out toll booths with human operators. Today, they use cameras that make contact with a transponder, such as from E-ZPass, that debits the driver’s account.
If a driver doesn’t have a transponder, the camera records the license plate number and sends the driver an invoice through the mail a couple of weeks later. No state contacts drivers by text and demands to be paid in gift cards.
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 as E-ZPass.
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.
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