No, that’s not the Pa. Turnpike texting you about unpaid tolls
Another round of scam texts appear to be targeting people with Pennsylvania cell phone numbers, with more than 700 people reporting the incidents to the turnpike commission in recent days.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/KIQTLS7SQJC5ZJ5KDV225GZV6Y.jpg)
If you’ve recently received a random text about unpaid tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, beware.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is warning drivers that the texts, which claim to be from “Pennsylvania Turnpike Toll Services,” are actually from scammers trying to get recipients’ personal financial information.
Since Saturday, when the commission released information about the latest iteration of the scam, more than 700 people have reported receiving the bogus texts, said spokesperson Marissa Orbanek. That is already nearly twice as many reports as the commission received in April, when the scam first circulated, she said.
In Clarks Summit, outside of Scranton, Kathy Judge woke up Monday to the text, which she had received around 3:30 a.m.
“I was like ‘Oh jeez, I don’t want to owe the Pennsylvania Turnpike,’” said the 71-year-old retired flight attendant.
Judge had driven on the highway just last week. And when she clicked on the link in the message, she was prompted to prove she wasn’t a robot by selecting certain images, a test she said made her feel like the site was legitimate. But after she submitted her debit card number and other billing information, she said the screen turned white — and she realized she had been scammed.
Right away, she called the number on the back of her debit card, canceled her card, and drove to the bank to get a new one. She said no charges have gone through from the scammers.
Still, it was “not a fun day,” Judge said. “You’re in panic mode.”
The scammers are randomly targeting individuals with Pennsylvania phone numbers, Orbanek said, and no customer information has been compromised.
This most recent incident of smishing — or sending fake texts to elicit personal information — is also similar to scams that impersonated other states’ toll agencies, including the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, in the spring.
The messages contain urgent requests about unpaid tolls, telling people that their overdue balance will increase if they don’t pay right away.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission shared a screenshot of one of the scam texts, which reads: “Our records indicate that your vehicle has an unpaid toll invoice. To avoid additional charges of $86.00, please settle your balance of $8.60.” It includes a link where recipients are directed to make payments.
Pennsylvania officials advise recipients of these texts not to click on the included link. Drivers can check their E-Z Pass or toll-by-plate accounts at paturnpike.com. Smishing can be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.