Overview

• A widespread 'smishing scam' sends fraudulent texts claiming unpaid tolls, urging recipients to click malicious links.
• Scammers impersonate toll providers such as E-ZPass, FasTrak, and I-Pass, leveraging urgency and small payment demands to appear credible.
• Federal agencies, including the FBI and FTC, emphasize that legitimate toll services do not contact users via text or email for payments.
• The FBI received over 60,000 reports of such scams in 2024, with experts linking the operations to international criminal networks using phishing kits.
• Authorities advise reporting and deleting suspicious texts, blocking senders, and taking immediate action if personal data has been compromised.