This viral scam spreads quickly through America.
Republished on February 7 with a new ones of new attacks this week and reports on the participation of Chinese cybercriminals targeting the Americans.
Beware – There is a new unpleasant threat that makes its way through America. THE FBI warns that “the scam can move from one state to another” and that users must delete such texts they have received. To be clear, if it is not already in the city where you live, there is a good chance that it will soon be and that it is completely due to be dupped. Here’s what you need to know.
If you have received an informed text that you need money for unpaid road tolls, “it’s probably a scam”, the FTC said. “The crooks claim to be toll agencies from one ocean to another and to sending SMS demanding money.” And the consequences are disastrous. “Not only does the crook try to steal your money, but if you click on the link, it could get your personal information (such as the driving license number) – and even steal your identity.”
The scam is stupidly simple, a text pretending to come from the local agency with an amount in dollars and a link to pay. It is a phishing attack – or an attack by SMIMS to be more accurate, since it is almost always a text rather than an email.
Last month, there were media reports from Massachusetts, California, North and South Carolina, Illinois, Colorado, Florida and more. It’s always the same style of text and it’s always a scam. This has become a problem at the national level. A viral threat.
Toll scam warning
The FBI says that it began to receive scam reports in March 2024, with thousands of citizens “reporting texts from Smims representing Roads collection services” since then. The texts, according to the office, “say that the recipient owes money for unpaid tolls and contain an almost identical language. The “amount of tolls pending” is similar … However, the link provided in the text is created to usurp the identity of the name of the state toll service, and the telephone numbers seem to change between states. »»
The last city to warn of the scam is Big fallsWho displayed his alert on X Thursday, telling the citizens “It is a scam and does not come from the city of Great Falls. Please do not click on the link in the message. “”
The FBI advice is simple and will guarantee you not to join the already duped thousands. “Check your account using the legitimate toll service website [or] Contact the telephone service phone number of the toll service. And then, critically, you must delete one of these texts received. You don’t want these malicious ties on your phone.
If you have already been the victim, “make efforts to guarantee your personal information and your financial accounts [and] challenge all unknown costs. “This could mean contacting your bank or your credit card if you have already paid, and if you have given the details of the address, you are wary of any new credit request or other services in your name.
According to Knowbe4“Similar scams have been reported in other states, notably in Florida (targeting Sunpass users), Texas (North Texas Toll Authority), Calorado, Connecticut, Minnesota and Washington. These phishing attacks often involve realistic websites that imitate the official sites of the toll authority, but only work on mobile devices, which makes them even more convincing for without distrust users. “”
It is believed that the probable culprit is gangs using “updated commercial phishing kits developed by groups of Chinese cybercriminals. These kits now include models designed specifically to usurp the identity of toll operators in several states. “Beyond tolls, these criminal gangs” used similar tactics to pretend to be maritime companies, tax agencies and immigration services, often targeting new people in a country or in vulnerable positions. The ultimate objective is to steal the details of the payment card, add them to mobile portfolios and make fraudulent purchases or whiten money through screens. »»
This joins the scourge of other viral scams targeting citizens. To these toll fishing attacks, you can add bank attacks of ghost pirates, fraudulent support calls and even imaginary police requiring payments to avoid arrest.
The scams in terms of text in particular are booming. The example this week of a woman in Florida who is the victim of a crook who “knew her name and convinced her that her phone had been hacked, [who then] asked him to withdraw thousands of dollars from his bank and deposit him in a secure cryptocurrency account to protect his funds, ”is common. And it’s not just the United States, it’s a global problem. Yesterday, an energy company in Europe warned 1 million customers to remove the fake SMS from the company.
The advice is always simple. Do not take unlined calls from banks or technical support. Never accept to install software or move money. Do not pay for cold calls asking money. And never click on toll links that are unexpectedly revealed in text messages. Get these bases and you will kill all attempts to scam from the start.
