Home MassDOT warns of toll SMS smishing scam targeting drivers statewide and beyond

MassDOT warns of toll SMS smishing scam targeting drivers statewide and beyond

Massachusetts authorities are warning customers about an SMS scam targeting drivers, which claims they owe money for unpaid E-ZPass tolls through EZDriveMA. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) revealed earlier this month that scammers are posing as the tolling agency, requesting payment for alleged unpaid tolls.

The smishing campaign attempts to trick customers into sharing credit card numbers and other sensitive information by directing them to a fraudulent website to pay their supposed outstanding balances.

According to MassDOT, the scam first appeared back in June but made a comeback and surged again during the holiday season.

MassDOT is reminding customers not to click on links from unknown numbers or emails. They made it clear that they never send bills or any other information through text messages.

The EZDrive smishing scam is just one of many smishing scams the FBI is keeping an eye on. If you think you’ve received one of these scam texts, you can report it to the FBI through their Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

Toll smishing campaign across the US

According to a notice on the IC3 website, more than 2,000 complaints about smishing texts have been reported since March 2024, representing road toll collection services from at least three states.

In Florida, people reported getting phishing texts pretending to be from SunPass, the state’s prepaid toll program. In Texas, residents said they received messages about unpaid tolls supposedly from the North Texas Toll Authority. Similar scams have also been reported by residents in New Hampshire, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Washington.

On Wednesday (Jan. 15), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also reported a smishing campaign, consistent with those reported in other states.

The texts claim the recipient owes money for unpaid tolls and use almost the same wording every time. The “outstanding toll amount” is said to be consistent across the complaints reported to the IC3. However, the link in the text is designed to mimic the name of the state’s toll service, and the phone numbers seem to change depending on the state.

Krebs on Security reports security researcher Ford Merrill noted that SMS phishing attacks were pretending to be from toll road operators surged after the New Year. The spike happened around the time a Chinese cybercriminal group, known for selling advanced SMS phishing kits, started offering new phishing pages designed to mimic toll operators in different US states.

Merrill stated: “What we’re seeing with these tolls scams is just a continuation of the Chinese smishing groups rotating from package redelivery schemes to toll road scams.

“Every one of us by now is sick and tired of receiving these package smishing attacks, so now it’s a new twist on an existing scam.”

Featured image: Canva

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Suswati Basu
Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

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