If you get a text asking you to pay a North Carolina highway toll, don’t do it
One of the latest scams designed to part you from your money involves your phone and outstanding tolls you supposedly owe the N.C. Turnpike Authority.
The authority, which operates toll roads in the Triangle and Charlotte areas, learned this week that people are receiving text messages telling them they owe toll money. The messages provide a link to a website where people are told they must pay their debt or face additional charges or fees.
Both the texts and the websites are bogus, the Turnpike Authority says.
The agency says it never requests toll payments via text. And it wants to remind people that the website for the N.C. Quick Pass program, through which people can pay their tolls, is www.ncquickpass.com/.
The toll road text scam is popping up around the country. The Federal Bureau of Investigation put out an alert about it in April.
The FBI calls the scheme “smishing,” combining “SMS” or short message service, with “phishing.” The goal of smishing attacks is to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or sending money to cybercriminals, the agency says.
It’s not clear how the criminals choose their targets. In North Carolina, the phone numbers appear to be random, with messages going to people regardless of whether they have an N.C. Quick Pass or have driven on a toll road.
The FBI suggests people who receive the messages do the following:
▪ File a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Include the phone number from where the text originated and the web address it provides.
▪ Check your N.C. Quick Pass account at www.ncquickpass.com/.
▪ Contact the Quick Pass customer service center at 877-769-7277 to let it know about the text. The Turnpike Authority says it has received more than 2,000 calls about the scam this week.
▪ Delete the smishing text.
▪ If you clicked any link or provided your information, take efforts to secure your personal information and financial accounts. Dispute any unfamiliar charges.
This story was originally published July 26, 2024 at 4:13 PM with the headline "If you get a text asking you to pay a North Carolina highway toll, don’t do it."
