Illinois Tollway: Those Texts Are A Scam, And Not From Us!

If you've been getting texts (or, in some cases, emails) lately from something called "Illinois Tollway Services" (or sometimes just Illinois Tollway) telling you that you owe toll money, you've probably responded or thought about responding because you're a law-abiding citizen who doesn't want any trouble with the authorities.

Plus, that text looks really official with the right logo or masthead, so why wouldn't you answer and try to get your problem all straightened out? It's legit, right?

Welcome back to Rhetorical Questions 101. Of course it's not legit. The people sending the texts want to get your personal information to use your ID for their own purposes. Unfortunately, many Illinois residents who've gotten one of these texts purporting to be from the Illinois Secretary of State's Office are going to find out the hard way that this is a scam.

This Type Of Phone Scam Has Been Going On For A Number Of Years For A Very Simple Reason: It Worked When Scammers Started Doing It And It Still Does

That's because, as I pointed out earlier, most of us are people who follow the law and do our best to stay out of any trouble that we can. Scammers love people like that because they know that many will go ahead and pay up when they think they'll have trouble with the government if they don't.

Don't be that person who pays up right away without thinking things through. This is a total scam, and a scam big enough that the Illinois Tollway decided to post warnings on their website.

IllinoisTollway.com:

The Illinois Tollway is advising I-PASS customers to disregard phishing texts being sent to their phones from “Illinois toll way” that detail a specific outstanding toll amount. If you receive a text and are unsure, please check your account online at www.illinoistollway.com or call our customer service center at 1-800-UC-IPASS.

This Scam Is So Prevalent That Nearly Everyone I've Asked Has Said That They Or A Family Member Have Received Multiple Texts That Said Money Was Owed To The Illinois Tollway

While "disregarding" the texts is a good idea, the Illinois Tollway said you should also:

• Delete any text that you receive stating an outstanding toll amount. The Tollway has been informed that this is a phishing scam claiming that recipients owe money for unpaid tolls.
• Please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov. That is a site dedicated to sharing information on Internet crimes across law enforcement agencies.