Toll frauds are in excess. How to notice them

It's not your imagination: you get more messages for unpaid tolls. And they are all fraud.

The Federal Commission for Trade and several state authorities, including California's Ombudsman, Rob Bonta And Governor of Yorkyork, Katie HohulThey have warned drivers to be looking for these messages, which have increased in frequency in recent months.

“Cheaters pretend to be toll agencies from coastline to shore and send texts demanding money,” FTC said. In a statement Posted on its web site in January.

Texts claim that you owe money, sometimes mentioning a specific amount of the dollar and include vague threats if you do not click on the link and act quickly to pay your balance.

Don't click on the link. You could potentially hand over your bank or credit card information and personal identified data to computer criminals, which may lead to Identity theft.

How do the makeup scams work on the road?

Unpaid toll frauds are classified as Summerwhere bad actors use text messages and pretend to be part of a company to extract your personal information.

FBI says that Texts sent by fraudsters use form It may seem like this:

“(Name of toll service): We have noticed an outstanding toll sum of $ 12.51 on your record. To avoid late fee of $ 50.00, visit https://myturnpiketollservice.com to solve your balance.”

Fraud frauds like this are becoming more and more popular as people have switched from calls to daily life, according to Wolfgang Guerlich from Ins Research, computer security research and a Boston -based advisory company. Since we are used to receiving text updates for the forthcoming changes in the flight or monthly payment route, receiving text for unpaid tolls can look innocent and even normal.

Bad actors also rely on creating a sense of urgency with toll fraud to lure victims to pay, said Michael Schemak, chief identity innovation and marketing officer for the protection of identity theft. In the example of the FBI above, the fraudster warns that the late taxi will be charged for non -payment.

For those who click on the connection in the text, fraud can be played in different ways. Criminals may be trying to get a copy of the driver's license, credit card information or both. Shumak says they can also try to deceive you to share sensitive personal data like usernames or passwords. In other scenarios, the false connection can take malware to your smartphone device, he said. Depending on how much data you give, you may risk stealing your identity.

How to avoid falling fraud for toll

You can't always stop unwanted spam texts, but you can control how you will answer them. Here are some other tips from experts on how to avoid becoming a victim of toll makeup.

Slow down before acting

Tolls of tolls often convey a false sense of urgency. This deceives you to act quickly before taking into account the possibility that it can be a fraud.

“The frightened people who move fast make bad decisions, which is exactly what the fraudster wants,” Guerlich said. “If the message makes you feel in a hurry or be afraid, believe in your intuition and stop answering.”

If you get an unpaid toll text, it's probably a scam

Toll agencies usually do not send random messages. Instead, they are likely to send you notifications of unpaid tolls by regular mail, according to the D -Zulfikar Ramzan, AuraChief scientist and EVP product and development.

If you are iousubopite if the text is real, FTC recommends Calling on the state toll agency to inquire. Use a phone number or a web site you know is real, not the text information.

Don't click on links

You need to be cautious about any links in the message, Ramzan said. If you think the connection is legitimate, you can (and should) float to check the URL before clicking.

“If the URL looks out or doesn't fit the official site, it's probably a scam,” he said.

To play it safely, call the toll agency directly to worry about any unpaid tolls.

Watch out for the types

Watch out for spelling errors or inconvenient expression in toll makeup fraud and double check the sender's contact information using toll checking agencies or government websites. Toll scams are often full of errors and probably contain inaccurate contact information.

The types are also usually found in the phishing, so you get into the habit of carefully considering the messages you get to help avoid fraud.

How to notice toll fraud messages

Here are some recent examples of saving messages that CNET staff received. All of these differ slightly in their form, but follow a similar plan:

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What if I fell for fraud?

If you believe you have fallen for toll fraud, there are steps you can take to limit potential damage. Your best course of action may depend on the information you shared, but you can think about doing some or all the following:

• Contact the card issuer. If you have shared your credit card number, expiration date and security code, call your credit card company using the rear of your card. They will probably respond by freezing your account or closing the compromised card and will send you a new one.
• Freeze your credit reports. If you shared your SSN and other personal identification, you should consider Freeze your credit reports With the three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and Transunion. This prevents identity thieves from opening new accounts on your behalf and you can always temporarily defrost your reports if you need to apply for a new credit card or loan.
• Check your credit reports. You also need to check your credit reports on suspicious new accounts or information that you can make for free at Annual Creditreport.com. If you find something incorrect on your credit reports, you can challenge these errors and remove them.
• Sign up to protect identity theft. Also consider reporting for Protecting an identity theft and credit monitoring. These companies can oversee your financial accounts, credit reports and identity on your behalf and check The dark network For traces of your information. Many companies also offer a $ 1 million or more insurance for insurance for theft of identity.

How to report tolls

The FTC says You need to report messages to the toll before you delete them from your phone.

“Use the garbage option on your phone to report these unwanted texts to your messaging application or follow them to 7726 (spam),” the agency said.

FBI also says you can report these texts to Center for Internet Crime Complaints. You can do this by sharing the phone number from the text and the web site sent to the text. All this helps the government and service providers in stopping fraudsters before causing additional damage.