Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today issued a consumer alert warning District residents of a new scam in which threatening text messages, claiming to be from a government toll collection agency, are sent to residents as part of an illegal, widespread effort to steal individual’s financial information.

“Toll enforcement agencies will never contact you via text to demand payment for an unpaid toll. These messages are part of a widespread, sophisticated scam designed to steal District resident's personal information and hard-earned money,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “Residents should ignore these texts and immediately file a complaint with the FTC—if you have already responded then follow our suggested steps to protect yourself.”

CONSUMER ALERT: Fake Toll Texts Are Targeting DC Residents

Have you recently received a text insisting that you immediately pay a toll or face serious consequences? You are not alone. District residents, along with people throughout the US, are facing a surge of fraudulent text messages that claim to come from road tolling authorities across the country. But the texts are scams that aim to steal your personal and financial information. They should be ignored and deleted.

According to the FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, 59,271 people filed complaints with the Bureau last year about the text toll scam. These scam texts—which appear to have been developed and deployed by transnational Chinese cybercrime syndicates—have been sent out millions of times to residents across the country.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has examined more than 50 toll scam texts that were sent to District residents. The texts have a threatening tone and insist that residents take urgent action—or else. For example:

• “You must settle the balance within the next 12 hours to avoid severe penalties.”
• “Pay now to avoid irreversible consequences.”
• “You will be penalized or subject to legal action.”
• “Please make your payment promptly to avoid these severe consequences”
• “Your credit score could also be lowered.”
• “Failure to pay by the due date will result in immediate fines, escalating late fees, suspension of your vehicle registration through the DMV, potential vehicle impoundment, and aggressive legal actions, including court proceedings with significant financial penalties and possible wage garnishment.”

The scam texts include links to websites that may appear to be the websites of legitimate local tolling authorities.

The first portion of the link mirrors those of our local tolling authorities, but the second half of the link reveals that the sites actually reside on low-use, low-quality domain extensions frequently associated with phishing and other fraudulent activity.

District residents should never click on these links. OAG found that the websites behind these scam texts serve only one purpose—extracting personal information and credit card numbers.

These fake web pages look almost real, but on closer inspection reveal their own deception. The fake E-ZPass Maryland site features a highway scene from Orlando, misspells ‘toll’ as ‘tol’, and tells users it cannot provide detailed information unless they pay—something no legitimate tolling agency would ever say. Both the Virginia DMV and the DriveEzMD have recently made announcements informing residents that they “NEVER request payment via text message.” If you are worried that you may have unpaid tolls, you can call:

• Virginia Department of Transportation – (877) 762-7824
• Maryland E-ZPass – (888) 321-6824

Because DC doesn’t have its own tolling authority, the most common version of the toll text scam sent to phones with a 202 area code tries to redirect residents to a fake website for WSDOT—the Washington State Department of Transportation. If you clicked through one of these scam links and attempted to pay a fake toll with a credit card, there are several steps that you can take.

1. Don’t feel bad or blame yourself. These texts are designed to deceive busy people living busy lives. They are sent out in such high numbers because they have been effective against a wide range of individuals.
2. Immediately contact your bank. Inform your bank that you’ve been the victim of a phishing scam and request a fraud block or replacement card. Check your transaction records for unauthorized charges and report those to your bank as well.
3. Consider a credit freeze. You may want to consider contacting one of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax) and requesting a temporary credit freeze to prevent the scammers from opening new accounts in your name.
4. Watch for follow-up scams. The scammers will sell your name and contact information to other scammers over the dark web. Be very skeptical of any new texts, calls, or emails asking for payment, verification, or access to sensitive information.
5. Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Report the phishing scam to the FTC via ReportFraud.ftc.gov and visit the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov website to develop a comprehensive personal recovery plan.