(CNN) – Experts say not to fall for fake text messages about an overdue toll payment or an E-ZPass final reminder.
These messages are one of the latest attempts to steal personal information.
Protecting yourself from these types of scams requires a consistent level of skepticism and being critical about where the messages are coming from.
Ford Merrill, the Director of Research and Innovation at Security Alliance, said scammers are always crafting new ways to try to get hold of personal information.
“It’s deceptively simple, the scam, and it’s very easy to fall for,” he said.
The scams involving text messages for unpaid tolls or outstanding E-ZPass balances are what are called smishing scams.
“They’re looking to steal your personal information, followed by your credit card information, and finally they will often have a multi-factor authentication bypass,” Merrill said.
Merrill said he has been following these types of scams since 2023. He said paying attention to the sender is important when protecting yourself.
“Looking at the sender address, it will often be like a strange number that you don’t recognize or it will be an email address that you don’t recognize, even though it’s a text message,” Merrill said.
Frank Hoare, the executive director of the New York State Thruway Authority, agrees with Merrill. He said legitimate agencies like the one he works with will never try to collect payment over text or email.
“They will never ask you to pay a bill in this way, you either have an account or you have a formal process to pay your tolls by mail,” he said.
Hoare said his agency is working with New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s office to warn the public about these scams, as well as what to do if you happen to fall victim.
Hoare said to simply delete these messages if you happen to get them.
“Red flags should go off right away as to whether this is legitimate and real, and they should not engage if it’s somebody by phone, if it’s an email or text they should delete it right away,” he said.
Copyright 2025 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.