E-ZPass Scam Returns with a Vengeance
Scam claims recipient owes toll money.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
Email Hank
It is back—a scam that tries to get you to pay up on an E-ZPass toll bill that you do not owe.
Residents across the state, including in the Fredericksburg region, have been receiving the notice through text or email. The message claims that you are on a list of motorists who have outstanding, unpaid tolls and you must pay up using a link within 12 hours or face late fees.
It’s being sent to many people who do not even have an E-ZPass.
The scam originally popped up in this region early last year and continues to resurface from time to time in a widening circle.
The pay up message is not from E-ZPass, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Virginia Department of Transportation, or any other state agency, and it is likely you don’t owe any tolls at all.
According to a statement from E-ZPass, these messages are not the result of any breach of your E-ZPass account and that your account information has not been sold to anyone.
The Viginia Department of Transportation and several police agencies have issued an alert about the scam, which is known as “smishing.” If you receive the text, you are advised not to click on the link.
It appears that the scam is random and not targeted.
VDOT is recommending if you think you might actually owe toll money on your E-Z Pass, you should use the official link to check your account.
And if you receive another text, VDOT is asking you to file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The complaint should include the phone number or email address the scam is sent from.
The E-ZPass system, which involves a computer chip device placed on car windshields that registers on receivers as you travel Interstate highways and bridges, collects tolls automatically tied to your credit card.
Seventeen states, mostly in the northeast, are linked to the E-ZPass system.
Last year, the FBI reported more than 2,000 complaints from three states about this smishing scam. That number now is closer to 60,000.
The scam has surfaced this year in Virginia, Massachusetts, California, Florida, Illinois, and North and South Carolina, among others.
In 2022 alone, $8.8 billion was stolen in these types of scams, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
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