Text scam sends fake toll road bill to San Diego County drivers

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A new text scam targets drivers with fake bills for FasTrak toll roads and express lanes.

The texts received by Bay Park resident Rosalie Clayton on Friday, and National City resident Eliana Barreiros on Saturday inspired anxiety.

“I was concerned,” said Barreiros.

“I just freaked out. I didn’t want to owe any money,” said Clayton.

The text reads, ‘Our records indicate that your vehicle has used the FasTrak Express Lane. To avoid additional charges of $79.90, please settle your balance of $7.99 …’

The text directs people to “Bay Area FasTrak services,” a website officials determined to be fake.

“It’s a small dollar amount, and they are creating a sense of urgency,” said Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Velasquez says the Identity Theft Resource Center, based in San Diego, has been getting reports of the scam for months and from all across the country.

The group has gotten complaints from those receiving the scam text, along with those who have been scammed.

The scam is a phishing scam. The website address to pay the fine is a fake one, where personal and payment information can be captured.

“People think, ‘I'll just get it out of the way and pay it, not realizing that actually it's going to end up with a lot more charges on your card that are not legitimate,” said Velasquez.

It’s a result Clayton believes she avoided. Although she clicked on the link, an error message prevented her reaching any webpage.

She also went the actual SANDAG website, put in her vehicle information and confirmed there was no violation.

‘It’s scary … we just have to be more vigilant,” said Clayton.

As for Barreiros, a quick internet search clued her in on the scam.

“I ignored the text after responding in a not-so-polite manner,” said Barreiros.

Velasquez says both the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission are investigating after receiving thousands of reports of scam texts.