Here’s What To Do If You Get An Illinois Toll EZ Pass Scam Text

Scammers gonna scam.

The scammy texts claiming to be from the Illinois Tollway are still alive and well. The EZ Pass scam texts have been floating around for a while now, claiming that you owe unpaid toll money and if you don't pay it, you're going to be reported to the DMV.

Previously, the texts came from area codes outside of Chicago and Indiana and have had some kind of headline like "Illinois Toll way",  "Illinois Tollway Services" or "Illinois Tollway Invoice". More recent ones just say "toll roads".

What To Do If You Get One

Most of us know how to identify this kind of scammy stuff by now. Here's what the Illinois Tollway says to do if you get one of the texts:

• Don't click on any links in it or respond to it
• Check to see if the text is legit. Log into your I-PASS account and visit illinoistollway.com to see if you do actually owe money.
• Tap "report junk" in your messages. You can also forward it to 7726 (SPAM) then delete.

The toll text scam has been running through Illinois for about a year now, the first warning about it came from authorities in spring 2024. The scam is called "smishing", which is blending SMS text messaging with phishing scams.

A lot of us know to ignore the texts, but not everyone who receives one is ignoring it, which is why the scam is still running strong. So if you get one, for once, it might not be a bad idea to ignore a text.