That "Unpaid Toll" Text Is Almost Certainly Fake — Here Is How to Check

A text arrives saying you have an unpaid toll — often a small amount, three or four dollars — and that a late fee will be added unless you pay today. There is a link. The message may name a real toll system such as E-ZPass, SunPass, FasTrak, or a state turnpike authority.

These texts go out by the million to numbers chosen at random, and enough recipients have driven a toll road recently that a share of them assume it is genuine. The small dollar amount is deliberate: it is low enough that paying feels easier than checking.

The payment page is the point of the scam. It captures your card number, and often your name, address, and phone number as well. Some versions also ask for a bank login. The few dollars are not the goal; the card details and personal information are, and they are frequently resold or used for larger charges weeks later.

Real toll authorities do send notices, but they use the mail and your own online account. None of them chase a first-time toll balance by text message with a payment link. So the check is simple and costs nothing: ignore the link entirely and look up your balance the way you normally would — through the toll agency's own website or app, typed in yourself.

If you have already tapped the link and entered a card number, the immediate step is to call the number on the back of that card and report it, then watch the statement closely.

(Sources: Federal Trade Commission consumer alerts — consumer.ftc.gov; FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — ic3.gov)