Did you get a text saying “California Tolls Services, our records indicate that your vehicle has an unpaid toll invoice. To avoid additional charges of $64.90, please settle your balance of $6.49 at https://bayareafastraktollservices.com”? Be careful – it is a scam!
Cash-free, electronic toll collection is commonplace on bridges and toll roads across California and the nation. This shift has created a new type of fraud. Cybersecurity experts call it “smishing,” phishing perpetrated through SMS text messages. The template is simple: Scammers posing as toll road operators Like Bay Area FasTrak claim the recipient owes money, and provide a link to a fake website.
From the beginning of March to April 12, the FBI’s internet crime complaint center received more than 2,000 reports of texts from impostor road toll collection services nationwide. Written in “almost identical language,” these texts requested payment for outstanding toll debts in similar amounts, spokespeople for the bureau said in a statement.
If (and when) you receive one of these smishing messages, simply delete it. If you have unfortunately fallen into the scam, contact your bank or credit card company right away and report the charges.
FasTrak — the Bay Area’s road and bridge toll collector — does not keep people’s mobile numbers or communicate by text. Drivers with FasTrak accounts pay tolls electronically via transponders mounted on their windshields, or photographs snapped of their license plates as they pass through a toll lane. People without accounts receive invoices in the mail after cameras capture their license plates.
You can read more about smishing and the steps you can take to avoid getting scammed at the FCC’s web page on how to Avoid the Temptation of Smishing Scams.
Interested in learning how you improve your cyber-hygiene?? We can help! Our blog post Cybersecurity for Employees: Awareness Can Save You from a Breach is full of tips, and our Zero Trust Security Checklist will get you started.
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