“Toll Violation Notice.” “Unpaid Toll Reminder.” “You have an outstanding toll payment.”
Across Georgia and the United States, cellphone users have received a barrage of threatening text messages in recent days urging them to pay outstanding highway tolls. Some of the texts push recipients to act quickly to pay off their fees or else face penalties or — shudder — legal action.
But the alerts are just a big old scam.
The messages include a link to pay the tolls, but the link goes to a fake website that often mirrors what the official site looks like.
Georgia officials are telling people to avoid clicking the links or paying money through such texts. Many of the texts claim to be about use of the Peach Pass, the state’s express lane toll system.
How can you tell it’s fake? Well, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says Peach Pass “will NOT text you to request payment of unpaid tolls.”
He issued a warning via social media urging people to “please be aware of these fake texts.”
Peach Pass officials, in a social media post, also urged caution.
“Beware of scam texts posing as Georgia Tolls and Peach Pass, requesting payment of unpaid tolls,” the post said. “Do not click on any links; these messages are fake.”
Other states have reported fake messages specific to their toll authorities. News reports about the toll scammers have come from North Carolina, Illinois, California, Washington D.C., Michigan, Ohio and Louisiana.
The Federal Trade Commission said in a consumer alert posted to its website that the scammers “are pretending to be tolling agencies from coast to coast and sending texts demanding money.”
“It’s a phishing scam,” the FTC said. “Not only is the scammer trying to steal your money, but if you click the link, they could get your personal info (like your driver’s license number) — and even steal your identity."
To avoid the scam, do not click any links, report suspicious text messages as junk and delete the texts.
If you receive a text message, Peach Pass recommends that you report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
And for actual Peach Pass customers, tolls can be paid at mypeachpass.com.
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