If you've received a text message stating you owe money for an unpaid toll or EZ Pass charge? It's more than likely to be a scam.
Jason Baker with Guide Point Security explains what you should do if a text like this shows up.
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"First, check it," says Baker. "I can't rule out that there are some legitimate messages out there, but checking into what you're looking at, if the URL, if the link looks suspicious, it's the first step. But once you've determined that it's malicious, that it's fake, that it's a scammer, the best thing that you can do is block and report it. Do not click the link, do not engage, do not respond."
Even if you know it's fake, Baker advises not to respond as it gives proof of life to the scammers.
"It's hard not to, right? You have a natural desire to let them know, 'hey, I know what you're up to,' but there's ultimately just nothing to be gained from doing that," says Baker. "On the other end is a working phone number that they can ping again in the future for future scams."
Since the beginning of February many people have been receiving these text messages stating they owe money.
"And that'll direct them to a website that looks pretty legitimate and attempts to get them to enter their payment information to pay that that notional past due toll," warns Baker.
He also stressed that with spring break and summer travel scams like this become more plausible, so be mindful of any texts like this you may receive.
Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks said last week that a threat actor has registered over 10,000 domains for the scams. The scams are impersonating toll services and package delivery services in at least 10 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario.
While Apple bans links in iPhone messages received from unknown senders, the scam attempts to bypass that protection by inviting users to reply with “Y” and reopen the text.
A warning last April from the FBI said the texts used nearly identical language falsely claiming that recipients have an unpaid or outstanding toll. Some threaten fines or suspended driving privileges if recipients don't pay up.
The FBI at the time asked those who received the scams to file a complaint with its IC3 internet crime complaint center and to also delete the texts.
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