John Johnson received a text message demanding payment for overdue driving toll charges. He thought the message was legitimate because he routinely crossed a toll bridge on his way to work, so he clicked on a link and paid the amount with his credit card.
But after he saw numerous unexplained charges on his credit card statement, he immediately called Visa, and the company dropped the charges. He was a victim of the “overdue toll charge” scam. The case is fictional, but it’s representative of this
type of fraud.
Most of us have paid fees to use toll roads or bridges. In this scam, fraudsters impersonate employees from tolling agencies to send text messages to drivers saying they need to pay delinquent charges. The scammers tell victims to click on links to pay
and avoid late fees. But, of course, those clicks can lead to phishing attacks that will steal personally identifiable information (PII), such as driver’s license numbers and credit card numbers — and even money and identities. [See “How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams,” U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).]
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