Toll Scam Text (E-ZPass, SunPass, FasTrak): What to Do If You Clicked or Paid

A text says you owe a small unpaid toll, often in the name of E-ZPass, SunPass, FasTrak or TxTag, and links to a page where you can pay before a late fee hits. The FTC says a text like this is probably a scam, whether or not you’ve driven a toll road lately. Here’s how to check your real toll bill safely, what to do if you already clicked or paid, and where to report it.

What the toll scam text looks like

The wording changes from state to state, but official warnings describe the same pattern:

• A small balance and a late fee. The FBI’s sample text reads: “We’ve noticed an outstanding toll amount of $12.51 on your record. To avoid a late fee of $50.00, visit” and then a link (FBI).
• A link made to look official. The FBI says the link “is created to impersonate the state’s toll service name.” The texts may also spoof real programs like E-ZPass, SunPass, FasTrak and TxTag (FTC, May 2026).
• Threats. A suspended vehicle registration (FTC), or lines like “This document constitutes a formal final demand for payment” (MassDOT, April 2026). Some threats aren’t even possible: the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says it can’t impound vehicles or garnish wages (OTA).
• A foreign number, or “reply Y.” New York State says the fake texts often come from an international number and ask you to reply “Y” to get a link (New York State). The sender’s number may also be spoofed to look like a toll company’s, the FCC warns.
• A generic greeting or an odd way to pay. The FCC says E-ZPass typically greets customers by the name on the account, not “Dear Customer.” It calls requests for gift cards or wire transfers “almost always a dead giveaway.”
• A page that wants more than a toll. The fake site asks for bank or card details, and may collect your driver’s license number (FTC, January 2025) or even your Social Security number (FTC, April 2025).

Getting one doesn’t mean your toll account was hacked. The targeted numbers “seem to be chosen at random” and aren’t tied to an account or to toll road use, MassDOT says. E-ZPass Virginia says the texts also reach people who don’t have E-ZPass, and aren’t the result of a data breach at E-ZPass Virginia (E-ZPass Virginia).

Fake unpaid-toll notices were among the top five text scams reported to the FTC in 2024 (FTC, April 2025). Messages about overdue tolls helped push reports of government imposter scams up 40% in 2025 (FTC, May 2026). By March 12, 2025, the FBI had received 1,573 complaints that month about fake Peach Pass texts in Georgia, versus 1,720 in the previous 14 months (FBI Atlanta).

How to check a real toll bill

Don’t use anything in the text: not the link, not the phone number, not a reply.

1. Contact your toll agency yourself. Use a phone number or website you know is real, “not the info from the text” (FTC).
2. Log in to your account or call customer service, and look for any real unpaid tolls or violations (FCC).
3. No toll account? Tolls can be billed to your license plate. In Oklahoma, PlatePay customers can look up tolls owed by plate number at platepay.com (OTA). On TxDOT toll roads, drivers without a tag get an invoice, and a tag account that runs short gets one in the mail (TxDOT).
4. Not sure which agency? The E-ZPass Group lists its member agencies by state and says to go directly to that toll facility’s website (E-ZPass Group). If the text names an agency in another state, find its customer service number on your own and call before you pay anything, the FCC advises.

Can a toll text be real? Yes, from some agencies to their own account holders. EZDriveMA texts customers about problems like a low balance or a declined card, but those texts have no links, and it “will never request payment via text” (MassDOT, April 2026). The FCC says toll operators “typically don’t use text messages to collect on overdue accounts.” Either way, check your account yourself.

What toll agencies say about their texts

Each agency below has warned about these texts. Here’s what it says about its own:

Toll program (state)	Official site	What the agency says
E-ZPass Group (multistate)	e-zpassgroup.org	It holds no customer accounts and collects no tolls. A message from “the E-ZPass Group” saying you owe a toll “is a scam” (E-ZPass Group).
E-ZPass New York and Tolls by Mail (NY)	e-zpassny.com, tollsbymailny.com	Will never text or email asking for your credit card, birthday or Social Security number (New York State, February 2025).
E-ZPass Virginia (VA)	ezpassva.com	Texts only customers who signed up for balance alerts (2023), and only from two numbers listed on its scam alert.
EZDriveMA (MA)	ezdrivema.com	Account texts have no links; it “will never request payment via text” (MassDOT, April 2026).
E-ZPass Minnesota (MN)	ezpassmn.net	“We will never text or email you asking for payment or personal information” (MnDOT).
SunPass (FL)	sunpass.com	Doesn’t send texts demanding immediate payment for unpaid tolls; log in at sunpass.com instead (Florida’s Turnpike, April 2025).
TxTag (TX)	txdot.gov; TxTag accounts: hctra.org	“TxTag/TxDOT does not send texts or emails for past due tolls” (TxDOT).
Peach Pass (GA)	peachpass.com	Will never ask for personal or account information by email or text (SRTA).
PIKEPASS and PlatePay (OK)	pikepass.com, platepay.com	“In no way affiliated” with texts claiming people owe unpaid tolls (OTA, April 2025).
Bay Area FasTrak (CA)	bayareafastrak.org	“FasTrak does not request payment by text with a link to a website” (Bay Area FasTrak).

If you only got the text

1. Don’t reply, not even “Y” or “N” (FCC), or “STOP” (SunPass). Already replied? Don’t tap the link it sends. The FCC suggests blocking the number.
2. Don’t tap the link. Check your account the safe way, above.
3. Report it, then delete it (FTC). See “How to report a toll scam text,” below.

If you tapped the link but didn’t type anything

New York State warns that a scam link can install programs that spy on your activity or lock your data for ransom (New York State).

1. Close the page and don’t go back.
2. Update your phone and apps. Updates often include “critical patches” against security threats (FTC).
3. Downloaded something, or seeing pop-ups you don’t recognize? Stop logging into shopping or banking accounts on that phone and run a security scan (FTC).

Full steps for phones and computers: I clicked a phishing link.

If you entered your card number

Paid or not, the scammer now has your card number.

1. Call your card issuer using the number on the back of your card. Ask to cancel the card and get a new one (IdentityTheft.gov).
2. Mention any code you typed. If the fake page asked for a code your bank sent you, tell the bank. “Anyone who asks for your account verification code is a scammer,” the FTC says.
3. Check every transaction and dispute charges you don’t recognize (FBI).
4. Update automatic payments with the new card number (IdentityTheft.gov), including your real toll account if it refills from that card.

More steps: I gave a scammer my credit card number. Typed your bank account number instead? See I gave a scammer my bank account number.

If you paid: can you get your money back?

Maybe. It depends on how you paid and how fast you report it.

• By card: report it to your card issuer or bank right away and ask for a refund (FTC). Bay Area FasTrak tells people who paid a fake site to consider contacting their bank or card company “immediately” (Bay Area FasTrak).
• Federal limits: when someone uses your card number but the card isn’t lost or stolen, you aren’t responsible for credit card charges you didn’t authorize. For debit cards, that holds if you report within 60 calendar days after your statement is sent (FTC). The “toll” you paid yourself is less certain: getting it back is up to your issuer.
• Gift cards or a wire transfer: contact the company you used immediately and ask for a refund (FTC). See I paid a scammer with gift cards.

If you typed your driver’s license, Social Security number or a password

• Driver’s license number: contact your DMV. The state might flag the number or suggest you apply for a duplicate (IdentityTheft.gov).
• Social Security number: if someone used it, report it at IdentityTheft.gov. If not, or you’re not sure, follow the steps for lost or stolen information, starting with your free credit reports (FTC). More: I gave a scammer my Social Security number.
• Freeze your credit with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It’s free and doesn’t affect your credit score (FTC). Step by step: How to freeze your credit.
• A password: change it, plus anywhere else you use it, and turn on two-factor authentication (FTC).

The scam recovery checklist can turn your answers into a step-by-step list.

How to report a toll scam text

1. FBI: file a complaint at IC3.gov. Include the phone number the text came from and the website it listed (FBI). Type the address into your browser rather than using search results (FBI IC3).
2. FTC: report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Reports help FTC investigators build cases (FTC).
3. Your phone carrier: forward the text to 7726 (SPAM) or use your phone’s “report junk” option (FTC). That helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages (FTC).
4. Your toll agency, if it asks. The FCC suggests reporting the text to your toll company once you’ve confirmed your account is in order. If you clicked or shared information, Peach Pass asks you to call your bank and tell Peach Pass about any suspicious account activity (SRTA). MnDOT says there’s no need to contact it unless you replied or are a fraud victim (MnDOT).

The report-a-scam tool lists official channels by type of scam. More: what happens after you file at IC3.

Watch for the follow-up scam

• “Recovery” offers. Scammers buy lists of people who’ve already paid scammers. “Government agencies and legitimate organizations will never ask for money to help you get a refund” (FTC).
• Fake FBI or IC3 contacts. IC3 never contacts people directly by phone, email or social media, and never asks for payment to recover lost funds (FBI IC3, July 2026).
• Fake “fraud department” calls. A caller may know the card number you typed. Hang up and call the number on the back of your card. Never share a verification code (FTC).
• The next text. Scammers also pose as state DMVs demanding payment for an “overdue traffic ticket” (FTC, July 2025). Fake USPS texts work the same way.

What varies

• Your toll agency. Some text account holders who signed up; others say they never text about payments. Balance checks differ too: account login, license plate lookup or a mailed invoice.
• Where you drove. Out-of-state E-ZPass trips can affect your home account (MnDOT).
• Texas. TxTag customer service now runs through the Harris County Toll Road Authority, which has processed tolls on TxDOT’s Austin and Houston roads since Nov. 9, 2024 (TxDOT).
• Your card issuer. Refund decisions and fraud steps differ, and credit and debit cards follow different federal rules.
• Your phone carrier. Reporting to 7726 “is provided by most cell carriers” (E-ZPass Virginia).