Tolling scams — one more reason to avoid tolling!
Tolls are a fact of life when you’re driving in New Jersey and in surrounding states.
E-ZPass is supposed to make traveling through those tolls a little easier, even if you don’t have an E-ZPass account or transponder on your vehicle.
But some unsuspecting motorists are falling for a scam to steal their private information.
In the scam, a driver receives a convincing-looking text message saying a toll is owed, and it offers a link to pay the toll.
E-ZPass warned customers about “a large number of complaints about bogus payment requests for tolls and violations” in April. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority warned drivers about a similar scam that same month. Other states have offered similar warnings.
But the scam attempts continue, according to at least one traveler who contacted the Bamboozled column. She asked to remain anonymous but felt it was important to warn other drivers. She was right.
The reader and her husband went across the Delaware River during a trip from Morris County to Jacktown, Pennsylvania, for an antique gas and steam engine show in June.
“I am older than dirt and have never used E-ZPass,” she said. “Don’t go anywhere, really.”
So when she got a text a few weeks later that appeared to come from E-ZPass — it sported what looked like the purple E-ZPass logo — she didn’t give it a second thought.
It said: “Your recent journey on the New Jersey E-ZPass toll roads has resulted in a charge of $4.15. Settle your balance promptly to prevent any additional late fees. To make your payment, visit the following link.”
We’re not sharing the link here because it’s not authentic, and it uses the words “New Jersey” and “E-ZPass.” We don’t want anyone to use it in error.
A driver received this text from a scammer. It tricked her into thinking it was from E-ZPass, but it was a con artist impersonator. Provided to NJ Advance Media
But she clicked the link. It said the toll was $3 and there was a $1.15 fee. She entered the requested credit card information to make the payment.
“It all looked so very official,” she said.
A short while later, she got a call from her credit card company asking if a $400 charge was hers. It wasn’t. Someone had fraudulently used her card. The credit card company took care of the charge and issued her a new account number.
She didn’t make a connection until a few weeks later, when she received a mailed bill from E-ZPass for $3. No fees. A light bulb went on.
A look back at her credit card bills showed the $4.15 charge she authorized for what we now know was an E-ZPass impersonator never ended up on the bill.
Indeed, the text was a ploy to get her credit card information for a shopping spree.
Officials warn E-ZPass will never send a bill through a text. It will come through the regular mail.
“The best thing people can do to protect themselves against this particular scam is make sure they’re not being asked to enter their credit card information on a bogus website. The address for the New Jersey E-ZPass website is www.ezpassnj.com,” spokesman Tom Feeney said. “If you get a text message purporting to be from NJ E-ZPass directing you to a different address to pay a bill, don’t even click the link.”
Drivers who receive any texts like this should file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
“I am pretty careful. But this one looked so authentic,” our reader said. “A very slick scam.”
