This viral scam spreads quickly through America.
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”. To be clear, if it is not already in the city where you live, there is a good chance that it is soon. Do not become a victim.
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 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,” delete all the texts of Smims 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.
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 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.
