Friday, April 26, 2024

Our office has recently been made aware of reports of fake robo-texts pretending to be a toll road collection service. The message claims you owe money for unpaid tolls. The scam threatens a late fee and says that to “avoid” the fee, you can click a link included in the text message. This is an inventive take on the traditional phishing scam, where hackers try to get you to click on an unsafe link so they can either gain access to your phone or get you to input sensitive personal and financial information.

Follow our tips below to ensure you do not fall victim to this scam:

• Do not click any links in text messages that you receive out of the blue or from unknown numbers.
• The North Carolina Turnpike Authority will never send you a text requesting payment for unpaid toll fees. You can contact them or learn more here.
• If you receive a robo-text from a suspicious number, just delete the message.
• And if you click on the link sent in the message, make sure to file a complaint with our office at www.ncdoj.gov/complaint. Also, be sure to take the extra steps to monitor your personal information and accounts so you can dispute any unfamiliar charges.

Scammers are creative, coming up with new tricks every day to scam unsuspecting North Carolinians. Our office is working to fight back against robocallers and robo-texts. If you believe that you have been the victim of a scam, contact our office’s Consumer Protection Division at www.ncdoj.gov/complaint or 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.