Jersey drivers are being targeted by a text messaging scam from “NJ Turnpike toll services” that’s designed to trick them into entering their bank or credit card information into a bogus website, officials warned.
Officials from the real New Jersey Turnpike Authority said they began getting complaints about the text messages on April 11. The New Jersey E-ZPass website also is warning drivers not to respond to text messages from unfamiliar numbers claiming they have an unpaid toll.
The text messages claim drivers owe an outstanding toll balance and need to follow a link to a fake website to avoid a late fee, Turnpike officials said in a release Friday.
“NJ Turnpike toll services is not associated with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority or any other toll agency in the New Jersey E-ZPass Group,” authority officials said. “The outstanding toll balances described in the text messages are not real.”
Drivers who receive text messages from NJ Turnpike toll services should delete them without clicking on the link, officials said. Drivers who clicked the link and filled out the form should immediately contact their bank or credit card provider.
Similar scams have been reported recently by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and other U.S. tolling agencies, officials said. This type of scam is known as phishing and tries to fraudulently obtain financial or personal information.
Typically, violation notices come form the New Jersey E-ZPass group and not from the Turnpike Authority and are not sent by text message.
The bogus text messages are being sent to phone numbers in New Jersey area codes regardless of whether the recipients are E-ZPass customers or not, officials said.
Drivers who believe they have received one of the bogus text messages can file a report with the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry
