ScamBot Watch

Toll Road Text Scams (E-ZPass, FasTrak, SunPass)

"Outstanding toll: $12.51. Pay now to avoid a $50 late fee." Small amount, big penalty, one link. It is the same script from Maine to California, and the FBI has logged thousands of complaints. Here is how it plays and the single check that ends it.

By HarryPublished September 2026

Phone glowing red on a car dashboard at night with highway lights beyond
AI-generated illustration

How the scam works

A text arrives claiming you owe a small toll balance, usually somewhere around ten to fifteen dollars, and warns that a much larger late fee or a licence suspension follows if you do not pay today. The sender name matches whichever agency runs tolls where you live: E-ZPass in the Northeast and Midwest, FasTrak in California, SunPass in Florida, or a state turnpike authority. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center published the template in April 2024 after receiving more than 2,000 complaints in about six weeks from at least three states, and noted that the wording is nearly identical everywhere; only the agency name, the link and the sending number change as the campaign moves from state to state.

The link goes to a look-alike of the agency's payment page. Because cashless toll lanes are now common and many drivers are genuinely unsure whether a recent trip was billed, the page feels plausible. It asks for a card number to settle the balance, and often for a driver's licence number and date of birth "to locate your record". The FTC warns that this is a phishing page: the scammer gets your money, your card and enough identity data to open accounts in your name. Newer waves add a step first. New York's governor warned in 2025 that the texts often come from international numbers and ask you to reply "Y" before the link is sent, which gets around message filters and confirms your number is live.

The campaign is loud enough that the FTC listed fake unpaid-toll texts among the most frequently reported text scams of 2024, alongside fake package deliveries and bank fraud alerts.

Red flags

Flag 1: The wrong biller. The E-ZPass Group states plainly that it does not hold customer accounts or collect tolls; its member agencies do. Any text from "E-ZPass" or "E-ZPass Toll Services" demanding money is fake. Agencies bill through your account, by mail to the registered owner, or through their own app.
Flag 2: It reaches people with no account. E-ZPass Virginia noted that the texts hit non-customers too. If you have no transponder, or have never driven in the state named, the message has nothing to do with a real toll.
Flag 3: Tiny debt, huge penalty, today. A $12 balance with a $50 late fee and a same-day deadline is a pressure ratio, not a billing practice. Real agencies send a violation notice by mail with a due date weeks out.
Flag 4: A link, a "reply Y", or an odd number. International or ordinary mobile numbers, a request to reply before a link appears, and a domain that merely contains words like "toll", "pass" or "services" are the signature of the kit.

What to do in the moment

StepAction
1. Do not reply, do not tapReplying "Y" confirms a live number and invites the link. Opening the page can leak data before you type anything.
2. Check your real accountType the agency's website address yourself or open its official app and look at your balance and recent trips. The FBI and FTC both say this is the only check that counts.
3. Call the number you already haveIf you are unsure whether a toll went unpaid, use the customer service number on your statement, transponder paperwork or the agency's real site, never the one in the text.
4. Report and deleteFile at ic3.gov with the sending number and the website in the text, forward the message to 7726 (SPAM), report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, then delete it.

Tolls are settled in your account, not in a text.

If you have a transponder, the agency already has your card and bills it automatically; a real problem appears as a balance in the app or a letter to the address on your registration. If you have no account, the only legitimate contact is a mailed notice to the vehicle's registered owner. In neither case does a text with a payment link exist. Say that rule out loud to the drivers in your family and the message loses its grip.

What to do if you already paid or clicked

You paid. Call the number on the back of the card, report it as compromised, dispute the charge and ask for a replacement card. Check the statement for other small charges over the following weeks, because a card harvested this way is often tested with a minor purchase before being sold on. The FBI's guidance is to dispute anything unfamiliar and secure your accounts; move quickly, since disputes filed early are the ones most likely to succeed.

You entered a licence number or date of birth. Place a free credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and start a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov. Keep an eye on your state DMV account for changes you did not make.

You entered a login. Change the password on your toll account and anywhere you reused it, and turn on two-factor authentication where the agency offers it.

Then report the text, the sending number and the site to ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The E-ZPass Group asks for exactly those details because they are what registrars and carriers use to take the sites and numbers down.

Defense first: a two-minute setup

Log in to your real toll account once and note how the agency actually contacts you: some, like E-ZPass Virginia, publish the specific numbers they text from. Turn on auto-replenishment so a low balance never becomes a genuine worry that a scam text can exploit. Enable your phone's filter for unknown senders. Finally, tell the older drivers you know that toll agencies do not text bills, and that the right response to any such text is to open the app, not the link. That one sentence, said in advance, is worth more than any warning after the fact.

Quick answers

Do E-ZPass, FasTrak or SunPass send texts about unpaid tolls?

Treat any unpaid-toll text as a scam. The E-ZPass Group says it does not hold customer accounts or collect tolls, so a text from "E-ZPass" demanding money is fake. Individual agencies bill through your account, the mail or their own app. Check your balance by logging in through the agency's real website, never through the text.

What if I do not even have a toll account?

You will still get the texts. Scammers send them to phone numbers in bulk with no idea who drives where, and E-ZPass Virginia notes that recipients include people who are not customers at all. A toll text sent to someone with no account, or in a state where they have never driven, is proof of the scam.

I paid the fake toll. What now?

Call the number on the back of the card you used, report it as compromised and ask for a replacement. Dispute the charge. If you entered a driver's licence number or date of birth, freeze your credit with the three bureaus. Report the text, its sending number and the website to the FBI at ic3.gov and to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Sources

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