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Scam alert

Text About an Unpaid Toll? It Is Almost Certainly a Scam

Published · Updated · Arrives by a text message

The short answer

Do not open the link and do not reply. Toll agencies do not collect small balances through a text message with a payment link. If you want to be certain, close the message and check your toll account the way you normally would—through the agency's own app, or the address printed on a statement. You can then forward the text to 7726 to report it to your phone carrier and delete it.

What is happening

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center began logging these in March 2024 and passed two thousand complaints within weeks, and the Federal Trade Commission has published repeated notices since. The text names a real toll service, quotes a small amount owed, and promises a much larger late fee. The same message moves from state to state, and toll agencies are reporting fresh rounds of it. Houston and Harris County were among the areas reporting a round of these texts in September 2026, and Maryland's transportation authority described a similar message reaching drivers there in the same month.

How to recognize it

  • A small amount is owed—often just a few dollars—and a much larger late fee is promised if you do not pay quickly.
  • The text arrives from a number you do not recognize, sometimes naming a state you have not driven in.
  • The link resembles a real toll service's name but is not the address you would normally use.
  • The page asks for card details, or for a driver's license number.
  • Several people you know receive the same message at about the same time.

What to do instead

  1. Do not open the link, even to see where it leads.
  2. Do not reply, including with STOP. A reply tells the sender that the number is live.
  3. Check the toll account yourself, through the agency's own app or the web address printed on a statement.
  4. If you are unsure whether a toll is owed, call the agency on a number you looked up independently.
  5. Forward the message to 7726 to report it to your carrier, then delete it.

If it already happened

Responding to one of these is common and understandable. These steps are what people usually take next.

  1. If you entered card details, call your card company on the number on the back of the card and say the payment page may not have been genuine.
  2. If you entered a driver's license number or other personal details, start at IdentityTheft.gov for a step-by-step recovery plan.
  3. Change the password on any account where you reused what you typed.
  4. Report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, and to the FTC.
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Common questions

How would I know whether I really owe a toll?
Check the account directly through the toll agency's own app, or the address printed on a statement. A real balance is visible there, and it will still be there tomorrow.
Is it safe to open the link just to look?
No. The page is built to collect card numbers and personal details, and opening it confirms your number is active. There is nothing useful to see on it.
I did drive through a toll recently. Does that change things?
Not really. These messages go out in bulk to numbers whether or not the person has driven anywhere, so a recent trip is a coincidence rather than proof the text is real.

Practice this safely

Practice checking an account through a route you already trust, instead of the link you were sent.

Every story is fictional. There is no timer, no score, and no real message, payment, or account.

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Where this comes from

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This alert provides general educational information drawn from the sources above. It cannot determine whether a specific message you received is genuine, investigate an incident, or promise recovery or reimbursement.