There’s a highway toll scam circulating you need to be aware of. Cellphone users have reported receiving messages telling them they owe a highway toll balance when they don’t.
The FBI said that during the first two weeks of March, its Internet Crime Complaint Center received 1,573 complaints about the Peach Pass scam.
Those complaints about the annoying text messages — telling people that they owe a highway toll balance when they don’t — totaled more than the agency received in the previous 14 months.
The texts were more than annoying—they were criminal. The FBI said people falling for the scam have reported losses totaling $3,643, although the actual number is believed to be much higher.
Many people getting these messages don’t have a Peach Pass or even live in Georgia.
A notice on the Peach Pass app alerts users that Peach Pass does not use SMS Texts to request toll payments.
Peach Pass, the electronic toll system managed by the State Road and Tollway Authority, has issued many statements telling people that they will never send text messages about toll violations — and urging people not to click on any links in such messages.
If you choose to file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3 — that’s at IC3.gov — be sure to include the phone number that originated the text message and the website listed within it.
This article comes to Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
