LinkGuardYou get a text saying you have an unpaid toll balance. Pay within a day or face a late fee, it says, and a link is ready to “settle” it. If you have not used a toll road lately, or if the sender is a random number, treat it as a scam.
How the scam works
The message is sent in bulk to thousands of numbers. Some recipients really do drive on toll roads, so the story feels plausible. The link leads to a page designed to look like a toll authority, and it asks for card details to pay a small amount, often a few dollars. The goal is not the few dollars. It is your card number, your billing address and sometimes a code sent by your bank.
Red flags
- A number or email address as the sender, not a short code you recognise.
- A link that is not the toll operator’s real domain. Real operators use their own sites, not a string of random words and a cheap domain ending.
- A hard deadline such as “pay within 12 hours or face a fine”.
- A vague message that does not name a plate, a date or a road.
- Payment through a page you reached by text, rather than your account on the operator’s site.
What to do
- Do not tap the link or reply.
- If you think you might owe a toll, open the operator’s official website or app by typing the address yourself, and log in there.
- Report the text. In the US you can forward it to 7726 (SPAM) and file a report at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- Delete the message.
If you already paid
Call your bank or card issuer straight away. Tell them what happened and ask them to block the card and issue a new one. Watch your statements for small test charges, which are common after a card is stolen.
Check the link without opening it
If you want to see where a link goes, paste it into LinkGuard. It follows the redirects and runs 15 checks, so you get a verdict without visiting the page.