Scams going around · Text messages
Unpaid toll text scam
Pretends to be a toll agency or toll program such as E-ZPass, SunPass or FasTrak. A text says you owe money for an unpaid toll. It says to pay right away through a link, or face a late fee or have your vehicle registration suspended. The link goes to a fake payment page that wants your card or bank details and other personal information, like your driver’s license number.
An example of what it can look like
Not a real message: the details are made up.
(213) 555-0187
E-ZPass Final Notice: You have an unpaid toll of $12.51. Pay by tomorrow to avoid a $50.00 late fee and suspension of your vehicle registration. Pay now: https://ezpass-toll-due.example (Reply Y, then close and reopen this message to turn on the link.)
How to tell
- It arrives out of the blue, even if you haven’t driven on a toll road lately.
- It says to pay right away, or you’ll get a late fee or have your vehicle registration suspended.
- It may use the name of a real toll program, like E-ZPass, SunPass or FasTrak, to seem believable.
- It has a link to a payment page that asks for your card or bank details.
- The link may use a state toll service’s name to look official, but it goes to a fake site.
What to do
- Don’t tap the link, and don’t reply, not even with “Y”.
- Don’t call any phone number in the text.
- Check with the state’s toll agency yourself. Use a phone number or website you know is real.
- Report the text with your phone’s “report junk” option, or forward it to 7726 (SPAM).
- Once you’ve checked and reported it, delete the text.
If you already tapped, paid, called or replied
- If you paid or typed in card or bank details, contact your bank or card company right away. Call the number on the back of your card, or sign in to your account on their website or app.
- Check your bank and card statements. Dispute any charges you don’t recognize.
- If you gave your Social Security number and someone has used it, report it at IdentityTheft.gov. If it hasn’t been used, or you aren’t sure, go to IdentityTheft.gov/databreach.
- If you tapped the link or replied but didn’t type anything in, don’t reply again. Report the text, block the number and delete it.
- Even if you only tapped the link, still protect your personal information and your bank and card accounts. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center gives this advice.
How to check for real
Contact the state’s toll agency yourself. Use a phone number or website you know is real, not the information in the text. If you have a toll account, you can also type the agency’s web address in yourself and sign in to check it.
Where to report it
- ReportFraud.ftc.gov, the Federal Trade Commission’s site for reporting scams.
- ic3.gov, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Include the phone number the text came from and the web address in it.
- Forward the text to 7726 (SPAM), or use your phone’s “report junk” option.
Free guides that go with this
Check a message you got, free · Check a link
Where this comes from
Written from these official warnings, checked 2026-09-25. Lantern is not part of any organization named on this page.