What Unpaid Tolls? What to Know About Scams on the Rise

Have you gotten a text recently saying you owe money for unpaid tolls? Maybe you’ve received an email confirming an online purchase you didn’t make or gotten a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS asking to be paid in gift cards.

Scammers are getting more crafty when it comes to swindling people out of money and information.

Consumers reported losing more than $10 billion dollars to fraud in 2023, a 14% increase over the losses reported in 2022, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The unpaid tolls scam has been seen all over the nation recently. Scammers are texting people telling them they have unpaid tolls and threatening them with late fees. The goal is to get you to click on a link and give up sensitive information.

Scams still are on the rise, but we’ve got tips to help you identify and, ultimately, avoid them.

Who Gets Scammed?

You might assume senior citizens are most likely to be a victim, but people of all ages are vulnerable. Scammers rely on both hope and fear to get money out of you. Many scams are geared toward identity theft.

Data shows people ages 30-39 were scammed the most in 2024, losing an average of $479, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That same age group consistently experiences the highest rate of fraud loss reports. People were most frequently contacted via social media, and they lost money through online shopping and business imposter scams.

Second-most scammed in 2024 were people ages 40-49, losing an average of $500, also through online shopping and business imposter scams.

Seniors are not defrauded at the same rates, but they lose higher average amounts of money, between $1,000 and $1,800 on average. In 2024, seniors over 70 reported getting phone call scams and lost money through online shopping, business imposter scams, tech support scams and government imposter scams.

Children can be victims of identity theft, too. Scammers use their Social Security number to open credit card accounts, rent homes and more. The Federal Trade Commission has great information on how to prevent child identity theft.

Too Good to be True

Scammers will text, email, call and mail you misleading information, offering something that sounds too good to be true. It is. Here are some of the most common scams.

Phishing

Phishing is when someone poses as a reputable company to get your personal information. They might pretend they are from an official government organization, your bank or a business you have dealt with before. They will ask you for your bank account number, Social Security number, passwords and other information that legitimate companies never ask for.

Another common phishing fraud is telling people they owe money for unpaid tolls. An example sent via text message: 

Please pay your FastTrak Lane tolls by February 20, 2025. To avoid a fine and keep your license, you can at (fraudulent webpage). Please reply Y, then exit the text message and open it again to activate the link, or copy the link into your Safari browser and open it.

Don’t do it! Messages that threaten penalties if immediate payment is not made are probably scams from people who just want to steal your financial information. Sweepstakes scams are done the same way.

Imposter Scams

There are a variety of imposter scams, but they all operate the same way: A scammer pretends to be a person or business you trust to get you to send them money. The scam can come in the form of an email, phone call, text or social media message that appears to be from someone you know. Don’t give out personal information. Reach out to the person or business they’re claiming to be before doing anything else.

Family Emergency

This is one of the crueler scams. These fraudsters call to say a family member is in trouble or pretend they’re a relative and need money desperately. This scam often targets older people, with information gathered from social media posts. They swear the victim to secrecy and put pressure on them to send money immediately. Red flag!

Utilities

A scammer will call to say that your power, gas or water will be turned off immediately if you don’t pay the balance. They will direct you to go somewhere with cash or make a wire transfer — methods that can’t be traced — to pay the bill. Small businesses are often the targets of these types of scams. Always call your utility company in these cases before taking any action.

IRS or Other United States Government Agencies

You get a phone call telling you to send money to the IRS or Social Security Administration immediately or you will be jailed. That is a lie. However you feel about the IRS, they can’t just jail you. Be extra suspicious if they offer to let you pay with gift cards, cash or a wire transfer.

Money App Scams

Scammers will pretend they are contacting you from Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, Cash App or another payment app, telling you they need to reconnect your bank account or credit card. They might send you to a website that looks legitimate. Never give information to anyone on the phone, and always go to the official websites to check information.

Tech Support Scams

A scary pop-up on your computer or a message on your phone tells you to contact your tech company immediately through provided links. Or they might warn you that they have to scan your device remotely. Don’t allow either — it is highly unlikely that a tech company will contact you that way, and they would never ask for money remotely.

Natural Disaster Scams

Scammers target people at their most vulnerable times. After a hurricane, flood or fire, they might seem like they are helpers. They could claim to be from an insurance company, the Federal Emergency Management Agency or another government agency and ask for personal information to get FEMA money then pay to have it expedited. This isn’t how it works.

Shopping Scams

People of all ages get suckered by shopping scams. It might be an email that seems like it’s from a known retailer. Here’s one sent via email: 

To show our gratitude to our loyal customer, we made rewards for them. If you received this email, that means that you’ve been selected to be rewarded. Take 30 seconds to complete the steps and confirm your reward. Reward: iPhone 14 Pro

The phone is “free,” but there’s a catch: You have to give your credit card information to pay taxes. 

These are some of the most common shopping scams. They might offer gift cards, trips, discounts and other temptations to get information on your financial accounts. Look for an increase in these types of scams around the holiday season.

Banking Fraud

These are pretty well known scams. A Nigerian Prince wants to give you money, or they won a foreign lottery but need your help collecting it. It’s simple: Just pay the fees and you get the money.

In some cases, a scammer sends cashier’s checks for you to deposit and return a portion, but they turn out to be counterfeit checks. By then, you are out the money you returned and could be charged with intent to commit fraud.

Dating Scams

It seems extra terrible to rip people off by playing with their hearts. These scammers will create fake profiles that flatter the person then eventually ask for money. They may make a profile alleging they have an intimate video and threaten to reveal it. There also are fake dating sites that gather your financial and personal information. Often victims are too embarrassed to reveal they were targets of fraud.

How to Prevent Getting Scammed

There are many other scams, including ones surrounding employment, mortgage and student loan payments, debt relief, home repair and more. If something sounds amazingly beneficial, do your homework first. There are always warning signs.

Scammers want specific information from you. They want your financial information, account numbers, sensitive information like passwords, birthdates, Social Security numbers or a credit card number. Businesses and government agencies have secure websites for these types of information.

Don’t ever give sensitive information to a website that doesn’t have an https in its URL. Check the URL to make sure it is really the correct website and not a fake one that looks similar. Never share PINs or passwords, and don’t use the same password for all your logins. 

Scammers also use time to pressure you to do something, so you won’t have a chance to research them or think about what they are offering. If there’s an extreme sense of urgency, it could be a scam.

A reputable company also will never ask you to send money by wire transfers, cash or gift cards. Nor will they ask you to have your tax refund sent to them.

What to Do if You Have Been Scammed

The first thing to do is report scams to both local law enforcement and to the Federal Trade Commission Fraud Report. 

Change your passwords if you think a scammer obtained them. Contact your bank if your debit card was used or your account information was given out. Also, contact your credit card company if something was charged to your card. If you sent a wire transfer or used a gift card, contact those companies as well.

If you were scammed online, check your computer with antivirus software for malicious software or malware. You can contact a credit report company to make sure your rating isn’t affected.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Penny Hoarder contributor JoEllen Schilke writes on lifestyle and culture topics. She is the former owner of a coffee shop in St.Petersburg, Florida, and has hosted an arts show on WMNF community radio for nearly 30 years.