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Every day, millions of people pass through road tolls on their commute to work, on the way to see family and friends, or to drive to a vacation destination. Cyber criminals are using social engineering techniques to pose as the state turnpike commission or toll providers like E-ZPass to gain your trust. Armed with some knowledge, you can spot and avoid these attempts rather than taking the bait.
Common Road Toll Scams
Road toll scams are on the rise across the nation, even in states that don't have road tolls. Cyber criminals send an unsolicited message—most often through text/SMS—posing as a tolling agency. They claim that you owe an unpaid toll charge and urge you to take immediate action to avoid excessive penalties or threaten suspended driving privileges. Their ultimate goal is to steal your payment information and take much more than the fake toll or penalty amount. They could also use the payment link to ask for personal information and steal your identity.
Image from PA Turnpike Commission: https://www.paturnpike.com/about-us/security-fraud
How to Avoid Road Toll Scams
You can stay one step ahead of cyber criminals. Remember: If it feels off, trust your instincts!
- Be skeptical of unsolicited outreach and never use contact information provided in suspicious outreach.
- Resist the pressure to act immediately. Think before you click, respond or open attachments.
- Verify a link is legitimate by hovering your cursor over the link, but not clicking it, to see where it leads.
- Pay attention to inconsistencies in outreach like:
- Poor spelling, grammar and/or punctuation.
- Unusual or unrecognized sender address/number.
- Reply-to email address different than the sender address.
- If you're still tempted to respond, reach out using information found on an official website or previous legitimate communications.
- Take steps to block unwanted calls and text messages, and report suspicious emails as phishing.
What to Do if You've Been Scammed
If you know or believe you’ve been scammed, don't panic. You can take action to limit the impact and help stop others from being scammed.
- Stop all communication with the cyber criminal immediately and block their number or email address.
- Document and preserve any evidence of the scam, including dates, times, payment amounts, and communications.
- Report the scam to relevant entities such as your financial institution, the impersonated state or toll agency, and your local authorities.
- Report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Change associated account passwords and monitor your accounts for any suspicious activity.
Additional Resources