The Weekly Breach Breakdown: Taking a Toll – Increase in Toll Road Text Scams

• The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) is receiving victim reports of toll road text scams impacting people in numerous states. Some states include Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Indiana, New Jersey, Georgia, California, Texas and Illinois.
• Last month, a Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) report showed over 2,000 complaints regarding smishing texts representing road toll collection from at least three states.
• The toll road text scams consist of text messages that claim you owe money for unpaid tolls. The messages contain convincing language and links created to impersonate the state’s toll service name.
• Ignore any text messages you receive that claim to be from a toll service. Check your account using the toll service’s legitimate website, app or phone number. Also, file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov.
• To learn about the latest data compromises, consumers and businesses should visit the ITRC’s data breach tracking tool, notified.
• If you believe you are the victim of an identity crime or have received one of the toll road text scams, contact the ITRC. Call or text toll-free at 888.400.5530 or live chat on the company website, idtheftcenter.org.

Taking a Toll

Welcome to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) Weekly Breach Breakdown for May 10, 2024. Thanks to Sentilink for their support of the podcast and the ITRC. Each week, we look at the most recent events and trends related to data security and privacy. This week, we discuss a new scam spreading like wildfire based on impersonating state tollway collection services: toll road text scams.

When you say something is taking a toll on you, it means something is causing you a lot of suffering. Toll road text scams are doing just that to people nationwide, making the title “Taking a Toll” appropriate for this week’s podcast – pun intended.

ITRC & FBI Receive Reports of Toll Road Text Scams

Over the last few weeks, the ITRC contact center has received reports from victims about suspicious text messages impersonating state tollway collection services. According to the reports, people are receiving text messages that claim they owe money for unpaid tolls. The texts include links to click to avoid a late fee and settle the balance.

One month ago, the FBI issued an alert stating they had received over 2,000 complaints regarding the toll road text scam from at least three different states. Fast forward to the beginning of May, over a dozen state tollway authorities have issued alerts regarding the scam.

What Are Toll Road Text Scams?

The texts use identical language as the toll authorities and take people to what looks like a legitimate toll service website. However, they are malicious websites that steal people’s information to commit various identity crimes. The links could also contain malware.

Text scams are nothing new. They have been around for a long time. However, toll road text scams are a new twist. Scammers continue to add new twists to text scams because people give up their credentials. That is why it is so important to ignore messages you are not expecting and go directly to the source to verify the validity of the message.

What to Do If You Receive a Toll Road Text Scam

• Ignore text messages that claim you owe money for unpaid tolls. Do not click on any links or download any attachments.
• If you receive one of these messages, check your account using the toll service’s legitimate website, app or customer service phone number.
• Once you confirm you’ve received a toll road text scam, file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov. Include the phone number where the text originated and the website listed within the text message.
• If you fall victim to a toll road text scam, secure your personal information and financial accounts. Change your login credentials, freeze your credit and check your financial account for unusual activity. If you spot any unusual activity, contact the financial institution.

Contact the ITRC

If you want to know more about how to protect your business or personal information, think you have been the victim of a toll road text scam, or think you have been the victim of an identity crime, you can speak with an expert ITRC advisor on the phone, via text message, chat live on the web, or exchange emails during our normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-5 p.m. PST). Just visit www.idtheftcenter.org to get started.

Thanks again to Sentilink for their support of the ITRC and this podcast. We will return next week with another episode of the Weekly Breach Breakdown