Gone ‘smishing’: ALDOT warns of toll collection scam by text messages

HUNTSVILLE — Though there aren’t any toll roads on major highways in the state, people have been receiving text messages saying they owe money for upaid tolls.

And, there’s a very good chance that message was a scam.

The Alabama Department of Transportation is warning people about the scam that is relayed over text messages. Anything you receive claiming to be a toll collection effort from ALDOT is a scam.

The text message, which was not sent by ALDOT, claims drivers are subject to legal action if they do not pay outstanding toll fees.

The texts impersonating state road toll collection agencies are attempts to get phone users to reveal financial information, such as credit or debit cards or bank accounts.

They’re so-called smishing scams — a form of phishing that relies on SMS texts to trick people into sending money or share sensitive information.

Since early last year, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received more than 2,000 complaints reporting these types of texts representing road toll collection services. The most common are texts from scammers posing as FasTrak Lane, the company that collects tolls for all roads in California.

If you receive a text similar to this in regards to paying tolls, it’s best to ignore it and instead visit the company’s website online. Do not click the link that’s in the text.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that clicking a link in a scam text can lead to a phishing attack, in which the scammer tries to take your personal information, credit card information, or more.

To avoid a text scam like this:

• Don’t click on any links in, or respond to, unexpected texts. Scammers want you to react quickly, but it’s best to stop and check it out.
• Check to see if the text is legit. Reach out to the state’s tolling agency using a phone number or website you know is real — not the info from the text.
• Report and delete unwanted text messages. Use your phone’s “report junk” option to report unwanted texts to your messaging app or forward them to 7726 (SPAM). Once you’ve checked it out and reported it, delete the text.