Illinois Tollway Warns Of Phony Scam Texts About Missing Tolls

Having had so much success with this scam not only in Illinois, but throughout the nation, scammers are sticking with the tried-and-true approach when it comes to stealing your money or personal information: the scam text.

In order to understand what this is and how it works, you have to know what "phishing" is. Here's the Illinois Tollway's definition, from their website:

Phishing email messages, websites and phone calls are designed to steal money. Email Phishing is the practice of sending fraudulent email messages that are disguised as legitimate and often include company logos that look real. A common online phishing scam starts with an email message that looks like an official notice from a trusted source, such as a credit card company or reputable online merchant. In the email message, recipients are directed to a fraudulent website or asked to open an attachment that may contain potential email viruses. The information obtained is then usually used for identity theft.

Here's What's Going On, And How Your Phone Is A Big Part Of It All

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 Tollway has been alerted to a text message phishing scam claiming that recipients owe money for unpaid tolls and detailing a specific outstanding toll amount. These are not legitimate messages from the Illinois Tollway.

If you receive a text, please check your account online or call our customer service center at 1-800-UC-IPASS (1-800-824-7277) from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays. Customer Call Center hours have been temporarily extended to 8 p.m. due to higher than normal call volume. If you receive a phishing text, please file a complaint.

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.