Turnpike authorities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware are warning both drivers and non-drivers about a toll scam that’s on the rise. NBC10 Responds reporter Tracy Davidson shares important tips to help you avoid being a victim.
Melissa Everett recently received a strange text message.
“Your vehicle has an unpaid toll bill,” the message stated. “To avoid excessive fees on your bill, pay within 12 hours.”
Everett immediately new the message was off because of one simple fact.
“I’ve never had my license,” she told NBC10.
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Rather than driving on toll roads, Everett rides a scooter to get around.
Everett was one of the thousands of people across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware who have been targeted by toll scammers.
“We received word that there was a smishing scam that was happening, impersonating the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” Marissa Orbanek, of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, told NBC10.
Transportation and Transit
Orbanek said they’ve seen multiple versions of the toll scam since April 2024 and reports are on the rise.
“We just have seen an uptick in cases really in the last couple of weeks,” she said.
Pennsylvania Turnpike officials say they’ve received 8,000 inquiries from customers about the text scam in the first two months of 2025. They say that’s a spike compared to the eight months prior when they received 12,000 such complaints.
Orbanek said the targets of the texts are random and at times, in Everett’s case, not even licensed drivers.
“I’ve had customers call me about their kid who does not have a license who got the text,” Orbanek told NBC10. “I mean, as young as like a 10-year-old.”
How to avoid the toll scam
The first red flag is the unsolicited text itself. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware officials don't text drivers about unpaid tolls.
“If you have a bill, we will send you a toll by plate invoice in the mail,” Orbanek said. “If you’re an E-ZPass customer, like 86% of the people who use it to Pennsylvania Turnpike, you will have that come into your E-ZPass account so you can log into your account.”
You should also ask yourself if the text lines up with your recent travel.
“If this is something that you haven’t been on the turnpike or even a toll road in 15 years, you’re not going to be getting a text for unpaid tolls,” Orbanek said.
Another red flag is a message that pressures you to pay.
“They were trying to make it seem like I was going to lose my license if I didn’t pay it immediately,” Everett said.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike told NBC10 the FBI is investigating the scam.
If you receive a fraudulent text, you can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center here.
