Steer Clear of Toll Road Scams

Have you received a message about an unpaid toll that doesn’t ring a bell? You’re not alone. Criminals target drivers with fake toll charges to steal money and personal information.

How it works

• You receive a text or email appearing to be from a legitimate highway authority or a transponder company such as E-ZPass.  
• The message claims you have unpaid tolls, often for a small amount.
• It urges you to click a link to pay the toll, warning that you’ll incur late fees if you fail to pay quickly.

What you should know

• These messages are designed to be realistic (based on geography, for example), and the toll amount is typically small.
• The scammers hope you’ll just click and pay without looking into whether you actually have an unpaid toll.
• Their goal is to steal money and payment information or to infect your device with malicious software that could lead to financial loss and identity fraud. 

What you should do

• If you get a message about unpaid tolls, do not respond or click on any links.
• Instead, check your account using the state tolling agency or transponder company's legitimate website or phone number — not information from the message.
• If your smartphone has a “report junk” option, use it to flag the message for your carrier.
• If you’ve been targeted by a toll scam, report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, IC3.gov.