‘Unpaid toll’ scam texts spreading throughout Virginia

Nick Broadway
·1 min read

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Scam text messages from people claiming to be a tolling agency requesting payment are spreading throughout our region. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is warning these “smishing” attempts are on the radar of the FBI.

Text scam requests payment for ‘unpaid tolls’, NCDOT warns

The texts say recipients owe a certain amount of money in unpaid tolls, followed by a link meant to impersonate the the toll collection service. Officials warn, simply clicking the link could put your personal information at risk. VDOT urges anyone who gets these scam texts to not click the link.

Inside the 10 On Your Side newsroom, one of our own producers received one of these texts while writing about the very same scam. He did not click on the link.

“I was just like, what were the chances of it happening,” producer Matt Twist said.

VDOT advises people to reach out to their toll facility to verify if a text like this is authentic. They note, this scam is not specifically targeting E-ZPass customers. You can report a scam text to the FBI on their website here.

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