Windy with scattered late night thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..
Windy with scattered late night thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Updated: April 1, 2025 @ 11:50 pm
If you get a text about your toll road bill, it’s probably a scam. I posted about it on my FOX23 Janna Clark Facebook page and many say they’ve been getting it too.
If you get a text about your toll road bill, it’s probably a scam. I got a text right after driving out of state, coming back from spring break to Oklahoma. It says, “you have an outstanding toll.”
I posted about it on my FOX23 Janna Clark Facebook page and many commented, saying they’ve been getting it too, like Justin Toner.
“I wonder if they just flooded Oklahomans with it right after spring break,” I said.
“Yeah, more than likely,” Toner said. “When I first saw it, I was like this is obviously not legit.”
“Do you think this must fool a lot of people,” I asked.
“For the older generation, like my mom, probably would get fooled with it,” Toner said.
Here’s what the text says: “EZ Pass final reminder: You have an outstanding toll. Your toll account balance is outstanding. If you fail to pay… you will face penalties or legal action… Please reply Y, then exit the text message and open again to activate the link, or copy the link to your browser and open it.”
“That was a dead giveaway for me. I was like I’m not falling for this,” Toner said.
“Why do you think this one might get people,” I asked.
“I think this one might get people because they got that new charge your license plate now. A lot of people probably don’t know they’ll send something in the mail,” Toner said.
“What do you think about getting texts like this one,” I asked.
“For the most part it’s just super annoying,” Toner said.
I warned you a year ago to watch out for this text. I told you it started on the east coast and was likely headed this way.
Cybersecurity expert Truman Kain with the company Huntress said it’s like phishing except instead of using your email, the scammers send a text. So, it’s called ‘smishing.’
“It’s prompting you to click a link and head to a website where you can settle up. The problem is that that website isn’t the legitimate toll road website, it is an attacker-controlled website,” Kain said.
Kain said if you get a text message and you’re not sure about it, first, look for any sense of urgency in the message.
“If a message or an email is trying to get you to act quickly without thinking because you don’t want something bad to happen, that’s when you should take a moment, stop and think. Attackers don’t want you to think, they want you to act,” Kain said.
The toll text says “Please settle your toll immediately after reading this message to avoid penalties for delaying the payment.”
Second, Kain said to ask yourself, “Did I solicit this message?”
“Is this message completely unsolicited, unexpected? If that’s the case and there is a link in the message, that’s when you should be extremely suspect,” Kain said.
Kain said beware of links and do not click on them.
Toner showed me the phone number the text came from and it starts with a ’63’, which is the international country code for the Philippines.
“What do you think about people spending their time trying to trick people?” I asked.
“I just wish they would get a job and not try to scam people out of money because like I said earlier the older generation could get affected with it and it just breaks my heart that people fall for it,” Toner said.
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority knows all about the text scam. They put a warning on their Facebook page that said the texts are a “scam” and “not from PIKEPASS or the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.”
When I asked OTA about it, they sent me an email that said:
“These scam text messages have no correlation to actual turnpike travel… (and) OTA is experiencing a high call volume… due to scam text concerns.”
Toner gave some advice when it comes to questionable text messages.
“If you receive something that looks sketchy like a text or phone call, feel free to reach out to friends or family to be on the safe side because more than likely someone else has gotten that same message,” Toner said.
OTA said if you receive a fraudulent text, you should report it to the FBI by clicking here or report it to the Federal Trade Commission by clicking here.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Tulsa Public Schools hosted a job hiring event specifically for positions at elementary schools. Read MoreVideo: TPS hosted job hiring fair specifically for elementary school positions
The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum’s ‘Are We Safer Today?’ exhibit is utilizing new technology, such as AI safety experts, to explore how safety practices have changed over the pas… Read MoreOKC National Memorial and Museum exhibit explains updated safety practices since OKC bombing
The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum is using AI safety experts to answer questions and to explain how safety practices changed after the Oklahoma City bombing. Read MoreVideo: OKC National Memorial and Museum using AI safety experts to explain updated safety practices
FOX23 Daily Forecast Read MoreFORECAST: Severe storms possible Wednesday morning
Associate Superintendent Lydia Wilson has been announced as Bixby Public Schools’ next superintendent after the retirement of the current superintendent, Rob Miller. Read MoreLydia Wilson announced as next Bixby Public Schools superintendent
Buck’s Vintage on 66 discussed the store’s reopening and its new 20-feet-tall mascot coming to Tulsa’s historic Route 66. Read MoreVideo: Buck’s Vintage on 66 discusses reopening and new giant mascot
Buck’s Vintage on 66 discussed the store’s reopening and its new 20-feet-tall mascot coming to Tulsa’s historic Route 66. Read MoreBuck’s Vintage on 66 discusses reopening and new giant mascot
Registration is open for the Summer of STEM at Oklahoma State University (OSU) Tulsa.  Read MoreSummer of STEM returns to OSU-Tulsa offering an engaging STEM experience for K-12 students
There’s a possible bedbug infestation at OU’s dorms in Norman, according to students. Read MoreOklahoma in a Minute: April 1, 2025
The State House and Senate both passed bills to ban the use of cell phones during the day in public and charter schools. However, the Senate’s bill has one major difference, a one-year expirat… Read MoreIn Depth: State Senate’s cell phone ban bill now includes a one year expiration date
In celebration of its 85th anniversary, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma kicked off its “85 Days of Caring” on Tuesday. Read MoreVideo: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of OK celebrates 85th anniversary, kicks off 85 Days of Caring
FOX23 spoke with a local expert about new tariffs from the White House impacting vehicles that are set to go into effect on Wednesday. Read MoreNew tariffs from White House impacting vehicles set to go into effect Wednesday
Currently in Tulsa
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:

source