Over the last few days, scores of New York citizens and beyond have been receiving malicious text messages from scammers posing as toll road authorities. The messages contain a bogus alert that the recipient/would-be victim owes unpaid toll charges. They are told to pay now, or face penalties. Below is an example text message:

Tollspayny Scam

Be aware that there are different messages from different numbers, under different names and with different URLs: but they all follow the same template. The following are others that we have come across. Don’t fall for it!

• Tollspayny: You have an unpaid toll balance. Go to Tollspayny[.]com now to pay and avoid additional penalties.
• *Tollsinfo*, you have an outstanding toll balance. To avoid fees of $60.00 visit Tollsinfosny[.]com
• Tollspayny Notice: Immediate action required for unpaid toll balance. Securely pay now at Tollspayny[.]com to avoid penalties.
• Tollspayny Alert: You have one unpaid toll balance. Visit Tollspayny[.]com now to resolve and avoid penalties.
• Urgent: Your account shows an outstanding toll payment. To prevent additional charges, pay now at tollspayny[.]com.
• Reminder: Unpaid toll detected. Immediate payment required at tollspayny[.]com to avoid further action.

How the Tollspayny Scams Works

While the wording changes, these scam messages are part of the same phishing campaign. The aim is to scare you into following the link in order to get the stress over with and avoid further costs and bureaucracy — which everyone hates. This time-pressure is an effective tactic used by scammers to dupe their victims.

If you follow the scammers’ lead and go to their phishing website, you will be asked to input the following information in order to pay your “fee”:

• Name and address
• Phone number
• Credit card number
• CVV security code
• Expiration date

If you provide this sensitive info, your financial life will be in their hands. With credentials like this, scammers can commit identity and monetary fraud, or sell it on the dark web. Think twice! Best advice, if you receive a payment demand supposedly from an official body, then get in touch with that body directly. And generally speaking, if you’re not expecting a charge, it’s probably suspicious.

Protecting Your Identity and Personal Info

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Why not give it a go today? As always, we hope this article has been an interesting and/or useful read. If so, please do SHARE it with family and friends to help keep the online community secure and informed — and consider leaving a like or comment below. Here’s to a secure 2024!