Tech Stuff: Did You Pay Your 'EzPass Ticket?" It's (Likely) Another Scam

Continuing on with this particular run of tech posts, I received the message below via text message recently.

---

Here is the text version (to make sure the search engines can find this page):

Ezpass Final Notice: Enforcement will begin on October 9th.

Our records indicate that as of today, you still have an outstanding traffic ticket. Pursuant to New York Administrative Code 16C-16.003, if you fail to pay within 24 hours, we will take the following actions:

1. Report to the DMV violation database

2. Suspend your vehicle registration effective October 9th

3. Suspend your driving privileges for 30 days

4. Go to a toll booth and be charged a 35% service fee

5. You may be prosecuted, and your credit score will be affected

Pay Now:

https://[REDACTED}

Please pay immediately, before enforcement occurs, to avoid license suspension and further legal complications.

(If the link isn't clickable, reply Y and reopen this message to click the link, or copy it into your browser.)

---

I can see how such a message might be startling if you, perhaps, live in New York or have driven through it recently. The problem here is that I haven't been to that state for at least 15 years. I've also received a similar message purporting to be from the state where I grew up. I can't quite tell you the last time I did any driving there, either.

Four things regarding this particular message:

1) Not knowing who might see this page, I won't fully elaborate this point, but the redacted, originating phone number is formatted in an unusual way.

2) Where in New York? When? What exactly is the traffic infraction?

3) It literally says "If you fail to pay within 24 hours, we will... Go to a toll booth and be charged a 35% service fee." What an unfortunate situation for the message sender(s) to be in... Maybe if they don't visit a toll booth, they can skip out on whatever that service fee is?

4) Don't click on weird links, ever. What was in the text message isn't from any DMV/city/.gov address. You never know what might be on the other end of those URL addresses, like malware and viruses.

The best way to put an end to these "smishing" (SMS phishing) scam attempts is by not responding to them. Another one going around is where you get a text from a random number, and the conversation might go something like this:

"Hey, James (or other common name)! Are we still going golfing tomorrow?"

"Sorry, there's no James here."

"Oh, sorry about that! Well maybe we can be friends anyway."

Then, through friendship-building, victims sometimes offer up more personal info than they even realize, and some people have sent a lot of money after thinking they've made a connection with someone they can trust. If finding and reading this page is a lot better than being scammed, you can help us by donating even just a few bucks via Paypal or Buy Me a Coffee, which helps keep this site up and running. We tried using Google's ad program, but most people are using ad-blockers these days. If you see the graphic below at all, it does help us out a tiny bit:

Continuing on, if you want to read a little more about the traffic ticket scam that's going around, the NYPD issued a statement on New York City's official website:

https://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_prevention/ezpass.pdf

Here's even more info from another legit source, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC):

https://www.fcc.gov/consumer-governmental-affairs/how-spot-and-avoid-toll-road-payment-scam-texts

In the U.S., Verizon and T-Mobile are members of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) non-profit trade association... If one of these is your service provider, forwarding spam text messages to 7726 (which spells SPAM on a standard keypad) alerts these companies of these ongoing problems and allows them to identify and block the originating sources. Forwarding a text isn't the most straightforward thing on an iPhone... To do so, select the text message by holding down on it (but be very careful to not hold down where the link is!). Click "More..." at the bottom of the pop-up box, hit the "forward" arrow at the bottom right corner, type in 7726 as the "To" recipient, then hit "send" like a standard text message.

You can also hit the "Report Junk" link at the bottom of a text from an unknown sender to report the message to Apple.

---

I borrowed this Emmy.

Hello, again, from Justin, your author. These posts always require a lot of time and effort to assemble. If this page was helpful, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (the average is $5) via PayPal: ...or you can Buy Me a Coffee. A huge "thank you" goes out to those who have already contributed!

If you would rather buy something, check out these photo prints at Fine Art America.

"Tech Stuff: Did You Pay Your 'EzPass Ticket?" It's (Likely) Another Scam"

Written by: Justin Kilmer

All images and media on this site are © by Justin Kilmer, unless otherwise noted.

Have any questions? Scroll further down, and the comment box will load.