Skip to content
Stay safe

Calls, codes and messages

Unpaid toll text: how to tell if it's a scam

A text saying you owe a small unpaid toll and must pay through a link is almost always a scam. Do not tap the link or reply. Check your balance by typing your toll agency's website into your browser yourself, or by calling the number on your account or statement, then report the text by forwarding it to 7726 and delete it.
An empty two-lane road with a double yellow line running towards distant snowy mountains
Photo: RyanMcGuire on Pixabay

If you get an unpaid toll text

Tap each one as you check it.

What the unpaid toll text says

The message names a toll service, says you have a small outstanding balance, and warns of a late fee if you do not pay today. There is a link to “settle your balance”. Some versions come from an international number and ask you to reply Y to get the link.

Example. Names and numbers are made up.

Why these texts are so common

In April 2024 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center said it had received more than 2,000 complaints about these texts since early March, from at least three states. The wording was nearly identical, the fake links copied each state's toll service name, and the sending numbers changed from state to state.

It has not slowed down. The FTC says reports of government imposter scams rose 40% in 2025, partly because of fake overdue-toll messages that copy real programs like E-ZPass or FasTrak and threaten late fees or a suspended registration.

You can get one of these texts even if you have never driven on a toll road. They are sent to huge lists of numbers.

The link opens a page made to look like a toll agency. It asks for your card or bank details to pay the fee, and often for more. The FTC warns that the page can also collect details like your driver's license number, which can be used for identity theft.

Signs of a fake toll text

  • Comes from a number or address you do not know
  • Asks you to reply Y to get a link
  • Threatens a late fee or a suspended registration today
  • The web address is not your toll agency's own site
  • Asks for your card, birthday or Social Security number

How a real toll balance shows up

  • It is on your account when you sign in on the agency's site
  • The agency's customer service can confirm it by phone
  • You can check it without tapping any link
  • E-ZPass New York says it never asks for sensitive details by text
  • You are never told to pay through a link from a stranger

How to check if you really owe a toll

  1. Do not use anything in the text: not the link, not the phone number.
  2. Find your state's toll agency yourself. Your pass, your statement or a past bill will name it.
  3. Type the agency's web address into your browser and sign in, or look up a toll-by-mail invoice there.
  4. If you are still unsure, call the customer service number printed on your statement or on the agency's site.
  5. If you owe nothing, report the text and delete it.

If it already happened

  1. If you entered card or bank details, call your bank or card issuer now on the number on your card, and dispute any charge you do not recognise.
  2. If you gave your driver's license or Social Security number, get a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
  3. If you entered your toll account login, change the password on the agency's real site and tell the agency.
  4. When you report the text, include the number that sent it and the web address in the message. Forward the text itself to 7726 so your carrier can block it.
  • ReportFraud.ftc.govReport the scam to the Federal Trade Commission.
  • IC3.govThe FBI’s internet crime complaint center, for losses online.
  • IdentityTheft.govIf they got your ID, Social Security number or account details.

Questions

Does E-ZPass send text messages about unpaid tolls?
E-ZPass New York says it will never send a text or email asking for sensitive information like your card number, birthday or Social Security number, and that real messages only point you to its own website. Whatever your state, check by signing in on the agency's site yourself.
I don't have a toll pass. Why did I get this text?
Because the texts are sent to huge lists of phone numbers, not to drivers. The FTC says it is a scam even if you have never driven through a toll.
I clicked the link but didn't pay. Am I safe?
If you typed nothing in, close the page and delete the text. If you entered any details, act on them now: call your card issuer for card details, and use IdentityTheft.gov if you gave your license or Social Security number.
How do I report a toll scam text?
Use your phone's report junk option or forward the text to 7726, then delete it. The FBI also asks people to report these texts with the sending number and the website listed in the message.

Realr does not check texts or links. When a stranger online asks you for money, you can ask them to prove who they are first with a Realr check.

Ask them to verify

Sources

Checked against the sources above on 17 October 2026. By Manav Sharma, Marketing Team, Realr. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Ask them to prove who they are, before you pay or meet.

Try Realr, free