By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
For the Los Alamos Daily Post
On Friday, April 12 the FBI warned of a massive ongoing smishing scam themed towards unpaid road tolls.
What is smishing? Smishing is phishing via SMS – text message, as opposed to phishing, which is when they try to trick you into giving up sensitive information via email attack.
These attacks started in March and thousands of people have already reported the attacks.
“Since early-March 2024, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received more than 2,000 complaints reporting smishing texts representing road toll collection service from at least three states,” the FBI explained in its April 12 notification.
The mobile campaign has yet to reach some regions, but the scam seems to be moving from state to state.
The FBI says the messages claim the victim owes money for unpaid tolls, and all contain nearly identical language. All reported messages mention an “outstanding toll amount” with a clickable link.
Image from BleepingComputer.com
The link does appear to be specialized to each locale, to mimic the state’s own toll service name. NM does not have tolls, but a NM resident who has recently been out of state could get one of these and get confused; so it is always good to know.
If you do receive any text messages with clickable links claiming you owe money for unpaid tolls, DO NOT click the link. Reach out directly to the state agency the text claims to be from, do not click the link or reply to the text or call the number!
The FBI asked those who receive one of these SMS phishing messages to:
File a complaint with the IC3 at www.ic3.gov and include the scammer’s phone number and the website listed within the text.
If the user has an account with the toll service, check their account using the toll service’s legitimate website.
Contact the toll service’s customer service phone number, by looking it up via an internet search.
Delete any smishing texts received.
If they click any link or provide your information, make efforts to secure your personal information and financial accounts. They should also ensure that all unfamiliar charges are disputed immediately.
While most NM residents are likely safe from this scam (no tolls in NM!), it is still possible that an NM resident who was traveling out of the state for business or pleasure could get a text like this and potentially be scammed. Be aware of what’s out there, and be alert! Don’t click that link, it’s a scam.
