Have you ever obtained a textual content message about an unpaid highway toll? Be sure you’re not the following sufferer of a smishing rip-off.
06 Might 2025
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4 min. learn
Driving is a lifestyle within the US. The nation’s sprawling suburbs and nationwide community of highways and toll roads is testomony to this. But it surely additionally creates a big potential pool of victims for scammers to focus on, as American drivers have been discovering out this 12 months.
One report claims there was a 604% surge in toll highway rip-off texts for the reason that begin of the 12 months, with the week starting March 2 recording a 98% enhance from the earlier week. It has prompted the FTC, governor of New York and legal professional normal of California to challenge warnings to the general public.
It’s time to get clued up on toll highway scams.
What do toll highway scams appear to be?
These are successfully text-based phishing (smishing) makes an attempt. The tip objective is to trick you into handing over your private or monetary data, or doubtlessly even to downloading malware to your machine. This might embody adware which floods the display with irritating popups, or one thing extra sinister, reminiscent of infostealing malware designed to reap your data and logins.
As a result of we are typically on the transfer after we take a look at our units, we could also be extra distracted, and subsequently inclined to click on by way of on that malicious hyperlink. Usually, our cellphones are additionally much less well-protected than our desktop computer systems, enabling rip-off messages to get by way of.
Right here’s what to look out for in a typical toll highway rip-off:
An unsolicited textual content requesting that you just pay an impressive sum from a current toll highway journey
A generic greeting fairly than a personalised intro along with your identify
Aggressive language designed to stress you into paying, doubtlessly threatening finessuspension of auto registration or detrimental credit score reviews should you don’t
A small fee quantity, designed to make it extra doubtless that you’ll pay up with out asking questions
Impersonation of a trusted toll highway model reminiscent of E-zpass, which operates toll roads throughout 20 states, or perhaps a state authority
Request for data reminiscent of driver’s license quantity and license plates
A hyperlink within the textual content message, which may covertly set up malware or take you to an internet site to fill in private and monetary data
A phishing website additionally spoofed with the branding of the professional toll highway operator
Generally scams are simple to identify, reminiscent of when they’re despatched out to drivers in states with no toll roads, reminiscent of Michigan or Wisconsin.
Right here’s some generally used phrasing in unpaid toll rip-off texts:
“You will have an unpaid toll invoice in your account. To keep away from late charges, pay inside 12 hours or the late charges shall be elevated and reported to the DMV.”
“E-ZPass: Your unpaid toll have to be resolved by (date) to make sure you preserve an lively driver’s license standing.”
“Your toll fee for E-ZPass Lane have to be settled by (date). To keep away from fines and the suspension of your driving privileges, kindly pay by the due date.”
Examples of rip-off texts (sources: Reddit (1, 2 and 3))
How you can keep protected from toll highway rip-off texts
By understanding the tell-tale indicators of a toll highway smishing try, you’ll be much less prone to fall it. However the dangerous guys are at all times refining and evolving their scams, so it pays to maintain updated with the newest information. Take into account signing as much as companies from toll highway operators or state companies that ship out alerts about new scams.
Listed below are another tricks to contemplate:
By no means click on on any hyperlinks in unsolicited texts, or present private/monetary data.
Examine with the sender if the textual content is professional and also you do in reality owe a toll highway supplier some cash. Which means reaching out independently fairly than responding to any particulars on the textual content itself.
Join an account along with your toll highway suppliers. This may enable you to to handle late funds extra simply, and test the veracity of an unsolicited textual content claiming late fee.
Obtain safety software program to your units that may scan for malicious hyperlinks or content material, and block covert malware set up makes an attempt.
Block the variety of any rip-off (smishing) texts you obtain.
Report toll highway smishing makes an attempt. This may assist hold others protected by serving to tech suppliers and regulation enforcers higher perceive new threats.
Delete any rip-off texts as soon as learn and reported..
What to do should you suppose you’ve been scammed
Within the even the worst occurs and also you suppose you might have fallen sufferer to a toll highway smishing textual content, don’t panic and comply with these steps:
Freeze your financial institution playing cards and inform your financial institution (if in case you have shared monetary particulars with the scammers)
Initiative a credit score freeze with the three important credit score reporting companies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax). This may restrict the flexibility of fraudsters to open new traces of credit score along with your particulars, with out affecting your credit score rating
Monitor your financial institution and bank card accounts for any uncommon exercise
Report the incident to the related toll highway authority
Report the rip-off to the FTC. There will not be a lot they will do, however it’s going to assist in the combat to guard others in opposition to comparable smishing makes an attempt
Change any passwords you may need shared with the scammers. Ideally you must use distinctive, robust credentials, saved in a password supervisor
Enhance account safety with multi-factor authentication, which signifies that even when scammers pay money for account logins, they can’t proceed any additional
Obtain anti-malware to your machine and run a scan. This may test if there’s any malware and take away it
Toll highway scams are large enterprise. One report claims {that a} single China-based cybercrime group registered as many as 60,000 phishing domains to assist one marketing campaign. It additionally warns that cybercriminals are more and more making use of pre-packaged “smishing kits” which make launching such campaigns even simpler. Happily, it additionally makes it simpler to identify the scams, as they normally comply with the identical fundamental format.
Keep protected – on the roads and in your telephone.
