Toll road text scams are on overdrive. How to find them
It’s not your imagination: you’re receiving more messages about unpaid tolls. And they are all scams.
Federal Trade Commission and several state authorities California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Governor Kathy Hochulwarned the driver to keep an eye on these messages. These messages have been increasing in frequency over the past few months.
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“The scammers will pretend to be a coast-to-shore pass and send texts requesting money,” the FTC said. In a statement It was posted on the website in January.
The text contains ambiguous threats if you claim to owe money, sometimes refer to a certain dollar amount, and do not act quickly by clicking on the link to repay your balance.
Please do not click on the link. You may hand over your bank or credit card information and personal identifiable data to Cyber Criminal. Personal information theft.
How does road toll smishing scam work?
Unpaid toll fraud is classified as Smithingbad actors use text messages and pretend to be part of the company to extract your personal information.
The FBI says that Text sent by scammers use wording It might look like this:
“(State Toll Service Name): I noticed that there is an unpaid toll on my record of $12.51. To avoid the late fee of $50.00, go to https://myturnpiketollservices.com and settle the balance.”
Such scams have become more popular as people have shifted to texting in their daily lives, according to Wolfgang Goerlich of IANS Research, a Boston-based cybersecurity research and advisory firm. Getting text about unpaid tolls can seem innocent and normal as you are used to updating texts or monthly payments on future changes on your flight itinerary.
Bad actors also rely on inviting victims to pay, relying on creating a sense of urgency with toll road scams, said Michael Schumack, IDIQ’s chief innovation and marketing director for Identity Theft Protection Service Service. In the FBI example above, the scammer warns that deferral fees will be charged unpaid.
For those who click on links in text, scams can be played in a variety of ways. The offender may be trying to obtain a copy of his driver’s license, credit card information, or both. Scheumack says they may try to trick you into sharing sensitive personal data such as usernames and passwords. In other scenarios, he said fake links could potentially download malware to smartphone devices. Depending on the amount of data you provide, you can run the risk of your identity being stolen.
How to avoid road toll scams
You can’t always stop unnecessary spam text, but you can control how you respond to them. Below are other tips from experts on how to avoid being a victim of tolls.
Slow down before acting
Toll road fraud texts often convey a false sense of urgency. This will promptly take action before considering the possibility that it is a scam.
“A scary person quickly makes poor decisions, and that’s exactly what a con man wants,” Gorrich said. “If your message starts to rush or fear, trust your intuition and stop responding.”
If you receive unpaid toll text, it can be fraudulent
Paid agents usually don’t send random messages. Instead, according to Dr Zulfikar Ramzan, they are more likely to send notifications of unpaid tolls via regular email. auraHe is a lead scientist and EVP of Products and Development.
If you’re interested to see if the text is authentic, FTC recommends Call the state traffic companies to contact them. Use a phone number or website you know is authentic, not information from the text.
Please do not click on the link
You need to be aware of the links in the message, Ramzan said. If you think the link is legal, you can (and should) hover to check the URL before clicking.
“If the URL is turned off or doesn’t match the official site, it’s probably a scam,” he said.
To play safely, call your paid agent directly to process your unpaid toll.
Pay attention to the typo
Beware of misspelling and troublesome phrasing in Smishing Scams and double-check the sender’s contact information using verifiable toll plazas or government websites. Toll scams often have errors met and probably contain incorrect contact information.
Typos are also common in phishing emails, so make sure you develop the habit of carefully checking the messages you receive to avoid scams.
How to find roadway scam messages
Below is a recent example of Smith’s messages received by CNET staff: All of these are slightly different in language, but follow a similar blueprint.
What if you fall into a scam?
If you think you fell due to a roadway scam, there are steps you can take to limit potential damage. Your best course of action may depend on the information you share, but you can consider doing some or all of the following:
- Please contact the card issuer. If you share your credit card number, expiration date, or security code, please use the number on the back of your card to call your credit card company. They will most likely respond by freezing your account, closing compromised cards, or sending you a new card.
- Freeze your credit report. If you share SSNs or other personal identifications, you should look them up Freeze your credit report Three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Transunion. This prevents identity burglars from opening a new account in your name and allows you to temporarily unlock the report whenever you need to apply for a new credit card or loan.
- Please check the credit report. You will also need to check your credit report for any suspicious new accounts and information. AnnualCredItReport.com. If you feel that something is wrong in your credit report, you can challenge and delete these errors.
- Sign up for identity theft protection. Also consider signing up Personal information theft protection and credit monitoring. These companies can oversee and check your financial account, credit report, and identity on your behalf. Dark web Traces of your information. Many businesses also offer identity theft insurance protection worth more than $1 million.
How to report tolls
The FTC says You must report a message filling the toll before you can delete it from your phone.
“Use the report junk option on your phone to report these unnecessary texts to a messaging app or forward them to 7726 (spam),” the agency says.
The FBI also says that these texts can be reported to Internet Crime Complaint Center. This can be done by the text originating and the website shares the phone number that was sent to the text. All this will help governments and service providers to stop scammers before causing additional harm.