The E-Z Pass transponder system is available to drivers in nineteen states and enables the drivers to avoid stopping to pay tolls when driving on toll roads.  Instead they merely drive through a special lane where their transponder is electronically read.  The tolls are then charged to a credit card on file with E-Z Pass.  It is a very efficient system that works well.  It also works well for scammers.  In 2014 I told you about scammers sending phishing emails to residents of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and even Canada where they system is also used.  The emails appeared official looking and carried the easily counterfeited logo of E-Z Pass.  The message was short and read: “Dear customer, You have not paid for driving on a toll road. This invoice is sent repeatedly, please service your debt in the shortest possible time.”  The phishing email of 2014 lured people into clicking on an infected link and providing personal information that would lead to identity theft.

Times have changed, but not that much.  Recently officials in, Massachusetts,  New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and California have issued warnings about the new text message scams, however, the scam is being perpetrated throughout the country.  Phishing text messages are called “smishing.”  Again, the text message indicates that the account is overdue and provides a link to a fraudulent page where victims of the scam provide their credit card information to the scammers.  I wrote about this scam only a month ago, but because it is getting worse and more prevalent, I am warning you again about it.

TIPS

Never click on links or download attachments in emails or text messages regardless of how official they may appear.  You can never be sure as to whether it is legitimate or not.  Your best course of action is, if you have any inclination that it may be legitimate, to contact the real company or agency and inquire as to the legitimacy of the contact.   The websites the scammers lure you into going to in order to pay the phony overdue tolls often look legitimate, such as myturnpiketollservices.com.  You can’t trust them.

It is also important to remember that scammers can manipulate your Caller ID through a technique called spoofing to make their text message appear to come from the legitimate number of a legitimate source.  Trust me, you can’t trust anyone.  If you have any concerns that you may owe tolls, call your E-Z Pass provider for your state making sure you are calling the real number or go the real website.

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