Southwestern Pennsylvania targeted in Turnpike text message scam

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The Pennsylvania Turnpike issued a warning about a text message scam that claims you owe outstanding toll fees.

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A screenshot of the text message sent to many E-ZPass holders in Southwestern Pennsylvania

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The Pennsylvania Turnpike issued a warning Sunday that users of its E-ZPass service were being targeted in a phishing scam.

Both the Turnpike and state police received reports of text messages claiming the E-ZPass holder owes $12.51 in outstanding toll fees, along with a link to a website. It warns of a potential $50 late fee.

“We started getting calls from customers who were getting these text messages and wondering if they were real,” said Crispin Havener, a Turnpike spokesperson. “Turnpike staff themselves started getting texts.”

According to Havener, the Turnpike has found no indication that it was the victim of a data breach.

“It was not a data breach on our end. This was a bad actor sending text messages to random phone numbers,” Havener said.

Rocco Gagliardi, a state police public information officer, said he received two of the text messages himself.

According to Gagliardi, everyone who has been targeted received the same message with an amount due of $12.51.

State police received numerous reports about the scam, but Gagliardi did not have an exact figure, as these cases are turned over to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

The FBI issues an annual IC3 report detailing cybercrimes nationwide. According to the 2023 report, Pennsylvania ranked seventh among states for number of complaints filed, and sixth in how much money was lost due to these crimes. Pennsylvanians were bilked out of $360 million last year.

“We get hit hard, because people fall for it more often. We see it more than a lot of other places,” Gagliardi said.

According to Gagliardi, so far the texts have gone to people in Southwestern Pennsylvania, mostly Allegheny and Washington counties.

“People even in Greensburg didn’t get it. It’s really focused on Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Gagliardi said, noting the scam could move on to surrounding regions.

The clickable link included in the text message led to a now-defunct website that mimicked the official Turnpike website. Gagliardi called it “very elaborate.”

The fake website copied the design, fonts and other elements of the real Turnpike site in an effort to trick people into providing their financial information.

“Go to the Turnpike website yourself. You can run your own plate and see if you have any late fees. It’s always good to just take a minute because these scams make you feel rushed,” Gagliardi said.

Havener said the Turnpike will never communicate an outstanding balance to customers through a text message. What will happen is the customer will receive an invoice in the mail, and then will have 30 days to make payments.

If the customer does not pay, they will receive another invoice with an additional late fee and have 60 days to pay. Beyond that, the Turnpike will turn the account over to a collections agency.

“The Turnpike does not directly contact customers through text message for such a situation,” Havener said.

Anyone who receives one of these text messages is encouraged to report it at ic3.gov. E-ZPass users can check their accounts at paturnpike.com/e-zpass. The Turnpike also has an app available on iOS and Android devices.