Did you receive a text message from Arkansas Toll Services that says you have an overdue toll balance? Beware! It’s a smishing scam. Toll Services (SunPass, BreezeBy, EZpass, etc) do not ask customers via text to make a payment or to take immediate action on their account.
Smishing is when a scammer tries to con people through SMS by pretending to be from reputable companies. Recently, more than five hundred people living in Arkansas have received the scam text directing them to spoofed SunPass websites for payment of overdue toll balance.
Arkansas Toll Service Text Scam: How It Works
This text scam falls into the category of ‘Smishing’ and ‘website spoofing’. Clicking on the link directs users to a spoofed SunPass website to pay for the unpaid toll fee. This is just a tactic to get people’s credit card details and steal funds off their credit card account. Recipients who provide their credit card info would become a victim of credit card fraud.
You could also expose your mobile device to viruses, spywares, malware, when you click on the link. This is because the website isn’t an official USPS website, and likely contains spywares, malware and viruses which are harmful to devices and can hack and destroy your mobile devices.
Spot the Red Flags
- It links to website address that is different from official SunPass site
- A sense of urgency prompting you to click on a link.
- Contains Spelling and grammatical mistakes
What To Do About this Smishing
Do Not Click On The Link
Don’t attempt to click on the link no matter how legit it looks. Clicking links inside a scam email or text message would either direct you to a fraudulent website or install malware into your device.
Block The Sender Number
The final step you should take is blocking the number that sent the email. You can do this by flagging the telephone number as spam.
Report The Scam Text
Contact BreezeBy or Oregon Police to report the scam immediately. This can help them warn other customers and stop future scams.
Delete The Text Message
Deleting the text message will prevent you from mistakenly replying to it.
What You Should do If You Already Clicked on the Smishing Link
Inform Your Credit Card Company
If you provided your credit card details on this scam site, the first step you should take is calling your credit card company. They need to know that your card details have been compromised so as to closely monitor and prevent any unauthorized charges.
Place a Credit Freeze or Fraud Alert
Fraud alert is sort of like a two-factor authentication process for accessing your credit, whereas a credit freeze blocks anyone from accessing your credit — until you remove it. The credit freeze is the best option for you, if you know you wouldn’t be using the credit card anytime soon.
Scan Your Device with a Malware Checker Tool
There’s a likelihood that your device has been infested by malware or spyware after visiting the spoofed website. Scanning your device with a malware removal tool will detect and remove any viruses, spyware, or other malicious programs.
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