Ohio Turnpike says it's getting flooded with billing calls, questions amid texting scam

The Ohio Turnpike is giving motorists a reprieve on late fees and fines.

The turnpike announced Monday that it was experiencing an unusually high call volume to its phone center following the mailing of unpaid toll invoices.

Since callers might have trouble reaching the turnpike, the agency has "halted" all late fees, collections and BMV registration holds.

What should I do if I have a question about Ohio Turnpike invoices?

As the phone lines are jammed to the Ohio Turnpike billing center, motorists are urged to fill out an online form for any billing questions.

The turnpike suggests visiting ezpassoh.com for faster customer service.

Why are there so many people calling the Ohio Turnpike?

The spike in calls to the turnpike comes amid a scam that is using texts requesting payment for unpaid toll bills.

The text messages are part of a " smishing " scam that sends texts to random numbers pretending to be from the turnpike.

"The Ohio Turnpike does not request its E-ZPass customers to make payments by text. Collections of unpaid tolls and/or toll violations do not occur by text either," the Ohio Turnpike says.

Tips to avoid smishing scams

The following tips for avoiding smishing scams come from the Federal Communications Commission's website :

• Never click links, reply to text messages or call numbers you don't recognize.
• Do not respond, even if the message requests that you "text STOP" to end messages.
• Delete all suspicious texts.
• Make sure your smart device OS and security apps are updated to the latest version.
• Consider installing anti-malware software on your device for added security.
• Protect any sensitive personal information — bank accounts, health records, social media accounts, etc. — by using multi-factor authentication to access it.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio Turnpike says it's getting flooded with billing calls, questions amid texting scam