{"id":7277,"date":"2025-03-04T13:16:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T18:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/?p=7277"},"modified":"2025-03-04T13:16:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T18:16:14","slug":"beware-of-toll-road-text-scams-protect-yourself-from-fraudulent-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/beware-of-toll-road-text-scams-protect-yourself-from-fraudulent-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware of Toll Road Text Scams: Protect Yourself from Fraudulent Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cover-Images-65.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cover-Images-65-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cover-Images-65-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cover-Images-65-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cover-Images-65-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cover-Images-65-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Cover-Images-65.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\">Lately, scammers have been targeting drivers with deceptive messages about unpaid tolls, a tactic known as &#8220;smishing.&#8221; These fraudulent texts often claim you owe money for tolls and urge immediate payment to avoid penalties. They typically include a link that, when clicked, leads to a phishing site designed to steal your personal and financial information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How the Scam Works:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Deceptive Messages:<\/strong> You receive an unsolicited text stating you have unpaid tolls, sometimes specifying an amount owed and threatening late fees.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Phishing Links:<\/strong> The message includes a link directing you to a fake website resembling an official toll agency&#8217;s site, prompting you to enter sensitive information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:45px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/GkvMcUBW4AAXiDg.jpg:large\" alt=\"\" width=\"603\" height=\"683\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recent Incidents:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Texas:<\/strong> The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysanantonio.com\/news\/local\/traffic\/article\/toll-road-txtag-text-scam-20184632.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">warned about fraudulent texts targeting toll users<\/a>, emphasizing that legitimate communications do not come via text messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Bay Area, California:<\/strong> A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/article\/fastrak-scam-texts-20184874.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">surge in FasTrak scams has been reported,<\/a> with fake texts demanding toll payments and threatening penalties. Authorities advise against clicking on suspicious links, as FasTrak does not communicate via text message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:23px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Protective Measures:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Avoid Clicking Links:<\/strong> Do not click on links in unsolicited texts.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Verify with Official Sources:<\/strong> Contact the tolling agency directly using known contact information to confirm any claims.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Report Suspicious Messages:<\/strong> Use your phone&#8217;s &#8220;report junk&#8221; option or forward the message to 7726 (SPAM).<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monitor Accounts:<\/strong> Regularly check your toll accounts for unauthorized charges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[233,243],"class_list":["post-7277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-smishing","tag-toll-road-scams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7277"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7319,"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7277\/revisions\/7319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}