If you’re a commuter in a metropolitan area where E-ZPass is used to pay tolls, the E-ZPass email scam can be quite alarming. You may wonder if the credit card used to pay your account has expired or been rejected for some reason. Carpoolers who might be allowed to use the toll road for free may wonder if something has gone wrong in the system and they’re being accused of illegally using the roads resulting from an error. That threatening email appearing to be from an E-ZPass email address is, however, a fake.
With twenty-four million E-ZPass users, the “market” for scammers on this email scam is huge. Currently, there are twenty-five toll agencies in fifteen states that cooperate in the E-ZPass program. The system eliminates the need for toll booths by allowing commuters to equip their vehicles with transponders. Those transponders automatically charge tolls to a commuter’s online account, thus allowing commuters to pay their tolls online rather than during their commute.
The email claims that you have not paid for driving on a toll road and demands that you “service your debt” immediately. This email is not from E-ZPass, however. It is a scam used to download malware or collect personal information that will be used to steal your identity.
The real E-ZPass Group has become aware of this scam and has posted information on their website at ezpasslag.com. The FBI has also become aware of this scam and advises anyone who is victimized to file a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
