Authorities in states that use E-ZPass to pay tolls have warned drivers about smishing texts asking them to click on links so they divulge personal and financial information.

There are 18 states that belong to the E-ZPass system: Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.

Smishing is derived from SMS, one of the most common forms of text messaging, and phishing, an umbrella term for scams that aim to trick victims into divulging personal or financial information.

The texts vary, but all of them tell victims they have outstanding unpaid tolls and will incur a late fee if they don’t pay.

“Your vehicle has an unpaid toll invoice, and to avoid excessive late fees on your bill, pay your fee by February 10, 2025,” read a sample scam text put out Monday by New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The scam texts have gone out to people inside and outside the states. The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority wrote on X last month that it “heard from several people that they received a text regarding an unpaid toll from another state.”

None of the transportation agencies or police departments that have put out warnings about the smishing have said where they believe the texts are coming from, but at least one scammer is using a foreign phone number. 

An image of a scam text posted online by the Braintree Police Department in Massachusetts displayed a sender’s phone number with a 63 country code for the Philippines.

The Plumstead Township Police Department in Pennsylvania put out a warning online Tuesday recommending that people log in to their official E-ZPass account to check whether they have unpaid tolls.

Toll-related scams have been going on intermittently for months. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, FBI and Federal Trade Commission put out alerts about an earlier wave of similar scam texts in 2024. 

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.