Some Southern Californians have received a text message that threatens legal action and financial penalties if the recipient doesn't pay a toll lane fee.
It's a road you don't want to go down.
The message, which might appear legitimate at first glance, has been received by people around California. It asks the recipient to pay a toll lane fee by tapping on a link to "avoid excessive late fees and potential legal action." Part of that link includes the name of an official agency.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
It's actually a phishing scam.
A representative for the FasTrak electronic toll collection system told NBC Bay Area that the text appears to be a ruse to get credit card information. FasTrak confirmed that the message is bogus.
Earlier in December, The Toll Roads in Orange County issued a warning to users about the phishing texts. The Transportation Corridor Agencies, which operates The Toll Roads, said it has received a barrage of calls and visits about the text.
Last week, Metro advised ExpressLanes users not to respond to the phishing text.
"The ExpressLanes system has not been hacked, and no customer information has been compromised," the agency said. "Metro ExpressLanes reminds customers that we never send text messages asking for sensitive information or requesting payment. If a text message claims to be from Metro ExpressLanes regarding tolls or violations, do not respond to the message, do not use any links in the message, and do not use any contact information provided in the message."
There are some red flags.
🚨SCAM ALERT🚨
— The Toll Roads (@TheTollRoads) December 23, 2024
The Toll Roads is advising drivers to disregard fraudulent phishing texts being sent to their phones that detail a specific outstanding toll amount. The Toll Roads do NOT send texts to non-accountholders. pic.twitter.com/OEC3fDxVpN
The phone number associated with the text message is in the Philippines. And, the link doesn't lead users to an official FasTrak page. In some cases, the phone number is longer than the standard 10-digit U.S. number.
FasTrak said it does not text users about billing issues.
FasTrak is a service that allows Californians to pay for use of toll bridges, lanes and roads without having to stop at toll booths. The service uses a transponder mounted to vehicles associated with the user's FasTrak account.
There are five FasTrak toll lane locations in Southern California. They are the 10 and 110 Freeway Metro ExpressLanes, 91 Express Lanes, 15 Riverside Express, 15 Express Lanes and 125 ExpressWay and The Toll Roads of Orange County.
The FBI has said it’s seen toll scams like this in other states. The bogus toll bills can be reported to federal authorities at ic3.gov.
