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Updated: February 13, 2025 @ 12:58 pm
Reporter
READING, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says scammers are changing their tactics to try to get you to click on bogus text messages.
“Since April, we’ve seen scammers that are using text messaging to really try to deceive customers into thinking that they have unpaid tolls,” said Marissa Orbanek, press secretary, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
Officials with the commission say scammers are trying new ways to trick drivers all over the country.
“It’s very, very random. They’re getting texts. Some of them, again, have never even been on a toll road, and some have certainly not been on it recently,” Orbanek said.
The texts claim the driver owes unpaid tolls.
“The text messages are very realistic,” Orbanek said. “They usually are trying to entice customers to pay an outstanding toll by saying that you owe a certain amount of money to avoid a late fee. ‘Please visit this website.’”
Once you click on the link, trouble awaits.
“The websites change every time. I think that’s really what is changing,” Orbanek said.
If you receive a text, do not click the link or respond to the message. Instead, officials urge you to report it to the FBI.
“If you clicked on that and provided your financial information, we encourage you to immediately report it to the FBI and really check in with your financial institutions to see what they recommend on how to protect your accounts,” Orbanek said.
If you think you owe any tolls, call the commission directly.
“We have customer service who are ready and on standby to assist our customers, and they can walk you through that process, and see if you do indeed owe any unpaid tolls,” Orbanek said.
Turnpike officials say the uptick in the scam has nothing to do with the new open road tolling system that started being used last month.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission can be contacted online or by phone at 1-877-736-6727.
Reporter
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