Buffalo, NY (WBEN) If you recently received an email or a text regarding your E-ZPass account, one cybersecurity expert warns not to open it. There have been several scams over the past few months aimed at getting to your personal information and hard earned money.
Cybersecurity expert Arun Vishwanath says this has been going on for about six months. He says some of these are strangely timed. "I received a smishing attack from E-ZPass, claiming to be from E-ZPass a week after I applied for a new transponder from E-ZPass, so the timing of doesn't roll out, but people are getting it all across the state," says Vishwanath,
Vishwanatha says in almost all of these cases, they're asking you to make a payment. "The biggest fear here is the first thing you're going to enter your your credit card information, you're going to lose money right off the bat. Some others, they're looking for social security numbers. Anything you give them, any information, is going to be stolen for the most part. So the rule here is don't respond," says Vishwanath. If it's an SMS based attack, he says block that right away.
Instead, go to the official E-ZPass website. "Look for their site, go on that, check to see your balance, and if there's a balance paid through that website," recommends Vishwanathan.
The Thruway Authority has this advice on its website: "E-ZPass® NY will never send an email or contact you requesting sensitive personal information such as credit card number, social security, user names, passwords, etc. If you are contacted by anyone stating that they are from E-ZPass® and they are seeking personal information, please DO NOT provide the information requested. Either call 1-800-333-8655 (TOLL) to report that you have been contacted by someone attempting to obtain personal information or ask the caller/email sender to provide their contact information so that you can call them back."