Are you getting text messages about owing money for an overdue toll bill? Or maybe you’ve received texts from numbers you don’t recognize claiming to be an old friend.
A phishing scam that has been going around for months could put many Texans‘ personal information at risk. The Texas Department of Transportation and the Better Business Bureau have warned people to be aware of fake text messages asking them to pay unpaid toll fees or attempts to pull personal information from people by seeming friendly.
If you’ve received any of these texts, here is what you need to know.
Even if someone has unpaid toll fees, TxDOT media relations director Adam Hammons said the agency does not send out notices through text about a past due bill notice.
According to TxDOT, there have been multiple reports of TxTag customers receiving text messages claiming to have a balance due or past due. These SMS text phishing scams are also known as smishing.
Here’s how to know you’re getting scammed:
According to Bitdefender, scammers get your contact information in various ways:
Scammers might send texts saying things like “Hello, old friend. I got my number changed. How are you?”
This simple conversation starter is more than likely a ploy to scam you.
According to Bitdefender, here is what you should do:
If you’re getting weird texts and phone calls and numbers you don’t recognize, there could be smishing attempts to scam you.
Smishing is a form of phishing, the fraudulent practice of sending messages disguised as a reputable source to induce individuals to reveal personal and/or financial information, such as social security numbers, credit and debit card numbers, and account passwords.
Smishing, specifically, is done through text messaging.
A victim of smishing typically receives a deceptive text message from a scammer pretending to be a government agency, bank, or other institution, like the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
If you believe you have received a deceptive message from a sender disguised as the USPS, report the message via email to [email protected]. Take the following steps to file a report:
The USPS will contact you if further information is needed.
If you receive a smishing message unrelated to the USPS, forward the message to 7726 and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

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