Imagine this: you're sitting on your couch, scrolling through your phone, when you receive a message notification. You open the message box to find it's a message from E-ZPass.
The message claims that you owe an outstanding toll fee and instructs you to make payment immediately to avoid increased debt and charges. It comes with a link that has E-ZPass in it with other numerics and unique words. What should you do?
Hold on! Don't click the link. That text you received is an E-ZPass toll scam text, and we want you to know about it in case you receive such unsolicited text messages in real life.
What Is E-ZPass?
E-ZPass is an electronic payment system for road drivers in the United States of America, offered by the E-ZPass Interagency Group. The electronic system functions as a transmitter and responder for automatic toll payments and is used by road drivers across 20 states in the eastern parts of the USA.
How does it work? A road driver registers and opens an account with E-ZPass, and a transponder is attached to their vehicle. When they drive through the lane where an antenna for the service is mounted, it reads the transponder, and the payment is made automatically.
This gives road users the ease of making payment at a tollbooth and reduces road congestion, while affording people a single platform to manage the records of their transactions.
While that is smooth, it also means that you'd need to have sufficient balance in your account, as the service is prepaid. Failure to do so would incur debts, which would lead to a violation notice being sent to you with higher toll fees.
Note: the bill will be sent to the physical address of the owner of the registered vehicle, not to their messenger app or email address.
E-ZPass Toll Scam Text Alert
The E-ZPass toll scam is a smishing scam where scammers send text messages about unpaid tolls, claiming to be from E-ZPass and demanding immediate payment. It comes with a link attachment, and as we noted before, do not click on the link.
Recently, we brought to bear the EZDriveMA scam text messages, and it is worth noting the similarities between the two and the fact that EZDriveMA and E-ZPass are not the same operation.
While EZDriveMA integrates with E-ZPass, it is based in Massachusetts and operational for residents of the state.
On the other hand, E-ZPass spreads across more states, and that means more people are likely to receive the scam text messages targeting their finances and personal information while pretending to be from E-ZPass.
Below is the format that is often used in such messages from samples that have been reported by some of the recipients of these messages.
| "E-ZPass Notification: You have an outstanding toll balance of $7.45. Pay immediately at Reply STOP to opt out." |
If you received such a message, you don't have to panic. The good news is that it is fake. What you should do is forward the message to law enforcement at IC3.gov and report and block the sender. For further inquiries, reach out to the E-ZPass management in your state through the official government channels or visit www.e-zpassiag.com for more information about E-ZPass customer service agencies.
Remember to use our scam text checker to analyze suspicious text messages and emails. Follow our guide on how to report scam phone numbers, calls, and texts. Remember, your safety comes first.
