📋 Toll Road Text Scams Are on the Rise (AARP Article)

[Winter2024]

FROM THE ARTICLE - SEE ARTICLE FOR MORE!!!

Drivers: Keep an Eye Out for New Toll Road Scams. Criminals pretend to be highway officials requesting payment after your trip.

By Ken Budd, AARP. Published July 05, 2024.

Taking a road trip this summer? Gas prices and traffic jams aren’t your only concern. Cybercriminals are now asking drivers to pay fake highway tolls.

The scam began gathering steam in early March, according to the FBI, and it appears to be growing more prevalent.

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2024/toll-road-texts.html

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How to avoid the road toll scam

Understand the scam. This type of scam is what fraud experts call “smishing.” It’s the same as phishing, but using text messages instead of emails. In both cases, the goal is the same: to entice you to click a link or open a document that might download malware or allow criminals to access your personal information, credit card info or bank accounts.

Don’t click on the link. Never open a link in an email or text, especially if the message arrives unannounced. “If you didn’t initiate the communication, don’t engage directly,” Velasquez says. McGovern’s advice: “If you get this kind of text message, delete it.”

Go to the source. Instead of opening the link, contact the entity that supposedly sent it. If you received a text that appears to be from E-ZPass, for example, and you think the toll could be legit, go to its website or call its customer service line to confirm if the charge is real.

Watch for emails. Scammers aren’t just using texts. In New York, E-ZPass holders have received emails asking them to download an invoice for unpaid tolls, according to an alert from the New York State Thruway Authority.

Report the scam. If you receive one of these texts, report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, IC3.gov. You can also report the scam to the Better Business Bureau or your state’s attorney general’s office.

[WipaW35885]

Yes, this has been happening in FL. I've receive a few texts since traveling from Tampa to Orlando/Mount Dora area.