Got a text about an unpaid toll? How to tell if it’s a scam

The message names a toll agency, or uses a generic name like “Toll Services,” and says you owe a small amount, often a few dollars. It warns that a much larger late fee will be added if you don’t pay right away, and it includes a link to a page that looks like the agency’s payment site.

The FBI described this pattern in an April 2024 public service announcement. It noted that the texts use nearly identical wording and similar small “outstanding” amounts, that the links are built to imitate a state toll service, and that the sending phone numbers change from state to state.

Millions of people drive on toll roads, so a toll bill sounds plausible. The amount is small enough that paying it feels easier than checking, and the late-fee warning adds pressure. The real goal is the card details, and sometimes the personal information, you type into the fake payment page.

Don’t use the link or call the number in the text. Open your toll agency’s official app, or type its website address yourself, and look at your account. If you don’t have an account, call the customer service number published on the agency’s own website. The FBI recommends checking your account through the toll service’s legitimate website or customer service line.

If the text mentions a road or state you haven’t driven in, that alone is a strong sign it’s fake.

The link doesn’t match the agency’s real website, or it uses an unusual ending like .top, .xyz or .info. The message comes from a personal-looking phone number or an email address. The payment page asks for more than a card number, such as your Social Security number, date of birth or a one-time code. And the text gives you hours, not weeks, to pay.

Call the number on the back of your card, explain that you paid a fake toll site, and ask about disputing the charge and replacing the card. Watch your statements for unfamiliar charges. If you reused a password on that page, change it everywhere you use it.

The FBI asks people to report these texts to its Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, including the phone number that sent the text and the website it linked to.

Forward the text to 7726 (SPAM), report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and at ic3.gov, then delete it. Reporting the number on ContactCheckup helps warn the next person who looks it up.