CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina Turnpike Authority and the FBI are warning people about a new texting scam involving toll roads that's targeting drivers across the country.
Scammers are sending text messages telling drivers they have unpaid toll fees, but it's just a ploy to get your money. A security researcher shared some tips for getting ahead of scammers before they steal your money.
The scam, which claims drivers have unpaid toll bills and sends them a link to pay, looks legit at first.
"We're seeing an alert that's being sent from a local-looking area code, letting the victim know that they have an outstanding balance on their account," Truman Kain said.
Kain said the criminals will usually only ask for about $50 with this scam. They've also done their homework with a website that might fool you at first glance.
"There's a link that the attackers want victims to click," Kain said. "They're sent to a website that looks very similar to their local toll authority website."
But what if you click the link? What can scammers do with that information?
"The first thing that attackers are going to do is turn around and try to use those credentials at a number of other kind of big software accounts and websites," Kain said. "Amazon, your bank, that's why it's very important to use unique passwords for each of those."
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This scam could also give criminals access to your car's vehicle identification number (VIN) and license plate number. This could lead to more specific, personal attacks in the future.
"Like, 'Hey, you have a vehicle that is recalled and you need to take further action,'" Kain said. "They're also going to bundle up that data and sell it to the highest bidder."
Kain says with scammers getting more creative these days, it's critical to take a few seconds to slow down when you get a text message that prompts any action, like paying a bill or clicking any link. If something seems off, there's probably a reason.
"Attackers don't want you to think, they want to get you to click or take some action," Kain explained. "So any time you get something with a sense of urgency, you want to stop, taking a minute and think first. Is this even relevant to me? If I'm not driving on toll roads, it's certainly not relevant."
Kain said if you fall victim to this scam, you’ll want to first immediately change your credentials. Then you’ll want to report the attack to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
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