Various fraudulent schemes are constantly emerging, including scammers deceiving people through their phones and computers. Officials from the US federal and state governments have recently issued warnings about a national scam targeting Americans, involving text messages demanding payment for unpaid toll fees. Officials caution the public to delete such messages immediately and not to respond to them.
According to a report by CBS News, on Tuesday, February 18, the Federal Trade Commission in the US issued a consumer alert stating that individuals may receive a message claiming they owe money for unpaid tolls, regardless of whether they recently passed through a toll booth or not. The FTC warned that this could be a scam.
The Federal Trade Commission warned that scammers are posing as toll agencies spanning from the East Coast to the West Coast and sending text messages demanding money.
Federal authorities say that this fraudulent activity involves text messages demanding immediate payment for unpaid toll fees. Some of these messages display a supposed amount owed and include a link that directs unsuspecting victims to a page where they are prompted to enter their banking or credit card information.
The FTC stated, “Scammers are not only attempting to steal recipients’ money but can also obtain personal information, such as driver’s license numbers, by clicking on the link, potentially leading to identity theft.”
This warning mirrors a similar alert issued by New York Governor Kathy Hochul a day earlier. Hochul revealed that the state has received complaints from residents reporting receipt of text messages attempting to collect toll fees. These deceptive messages often come from international numbers and instruct recipients to reply “Y” to obtain unofficial website links.
In a press release, the Governor stated that electronic tolling systems like E-ZPass and Tolls by Mail would never send text messages or emails requesting personal information such as credit card details, birthdays, social security numbers, or other personal identifiers.
Besides New York, states like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have also issued similar warnings in the past few days.
Scams related to road toll services are nothing new. In April last year, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported over 2,000 complaints from at least three states about phishing text messages, emails, or online scams related to highway tolls, deceiving individuals into divulging personal data. The FBI’s public service announcement indicated that these schemes may be spreading from one state to another based on IC3 complaint data.
The FBI noted that these fraudulent text messages claim recipients owe unpaid tolls, with almost identical language in the messages, while the links in the messages impersonate the name of the toll service agency of that specific state, with different phone numbers seemingly for each state.
In Georgia, the Peach Pass website of the State Road and Tollway Authority displays a banner at the top reminding customers of the increasing prevalence of text attacks aimed at toll road users.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation warned that fraudulent activities persist nationwide, with scammers sending false messages claiming the recipients had used Minnesota’s EZPass or other EZPass facilities and received invoices, violation notices, or bills. The state urged residents to “not reply and delete” such messages.
– Do not respond to messages from unknown numbers.
– Do not click on links from unknown senders in text messages and attempt to access websites through text messages.
– Use the “report spam” option on your phone, delete, and report the message.
– Block the sender’s email address or phone number.
– If unsure of the legitimacy of a message, do not contact the sender.
Clicking on links could allow scammers to:
– Install ransomware or other programs to monitor the recipient’s online activities or hijack their devices.
– Obtain personal information including passwords, credit card numbers, bank passwords, etc., to use the recipient’s identity for loan or credit card applications, or other fraudulent financial transactions.