A New Toll Road Scam Now Targeting Texas Drivers

Scammers are relentless. They are always busy coming up with new ways to access your money and bank account. Scammers will use high-pressure scare and fear tactics featuring high-profile businesses and recognized entities to put fear into you, hoping you'll follow through with their threat.

Texas has quite a few toll roads these days. The majority of them are in the Dallas-Fort. Worth, Houston, Austin, and the San Antonio area.

Get our free mobile app

TXTag, North Texas Toll Authority, and EZ Pass are a few of the ways that the majority of toll road users use to pay their tolls.

If you're like me, your phone has been bombarded with text messages stating you have an unpaid toll bill and you need to act now by clicking the link within 12 hours to pay your bill.

TxDOT warns -- DO NOT CLICK THE LINK -- in that toll text message

The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), which operates TxTAG, is aware of this scam and warns Texas residents not to tap on any link from a text message like this because you could be placing your personal and financial information at risk and serving it up to hackers and scammers on a platter.

The SMS phishing scam activity has increased over the last couple of months. TXDOT states:

TxTag takes customer account security and verification very seriously. While TxTag currently communicates with customers via email, text and outbound phone calls, it will not send text messages regarding final payment reminders or past due balances. Any text messages sent to TxTag customers will be sent from 22498.

These messages are once again being sent out with frequency. Yesterday alone I received four of these messages after being inundated with them in mid-February.

Anytime you receive an unsolicited message like the ones above, you should be extremely cautious, especially if they are requiring payment or asking for money.

Protect your identity and banking information, and never give out your personal information or PIN codes to anyone.