That text saying you owe unpaid tolls? It’s a phishing scam, authorities warn

Illinois officials are warning of a tollway phishing scam claiming that people have to pay unpaid tolls or could face consequences.

The scam text reads “The Toll Roads Notice of Toll Evasion: You have an unpaid toll bill on your account. To avoid late fees, pay within 12 hours or the late fees will be increased and reported to the DMV.”

The text then includes a link that was covered up and instructions about the link, according to a Facebook post the Lake in the Hills Police Department wrote warning about the scam.

If you get a text asking you to pay for something, never reply via text or click on any links, police urge. If you’re not sure if a text is valid, you should find the business' or organization’s trusted website and contact the business independently, in person or by phone, before making a payment.

In a Facebook post Friday morning, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said that if people received such a text, making them “question your life choices (or your last road trip),” they should check if they owe unpaid tolls on the official Illinois Tollway page at agency.illinoistollway.com/unpaid-tolls.

The Illinois Tollway said on its website that it was aware of a “text message phishing scam claiming that recipients owe money for unpaid tolls and detailing a specific outstanding toll amount. These are not legitimate messages from the Illinois Tollway.”

An Illinois Tollway spokesperson said Friday afternoon that toll text scams are happening nationwide, and the tollway is encouraging people to disregard the text. The texts aren’t associated with the tollway or customer data, the spokesperson said.

People who get the text and are unsure about their account can check illinoistollway.com or call the customer service center at 1-800-UC-IPASS (1-800-824-7277) from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, the spokesperson said, noting that the hours have been temporarily extended. The tollway also encouraged people to file a complaint with the Internet Crimes Complaint Center at ic3.gov.