SPOKANE, Wash. — If you received a message recently saying to pay a toll fee, do not pay it, it’s a scam.
People across the region are receiving messages saying they have unpaid toll fees. While there are no toll fees in the area, there are some in Seattle and the messages can be aggravating.
“They’re relentless,” said Deborah Harder whose family fell victim to one of these scams.
With so many scams out there, Harder didn’t see this one coming.
Harder’s husband recently ran a yellow light which caused the red-light camera to flash.
“That night, an email came in saying it was a toll fine, but he assumed that meant it was a violation of running a red light fine,” she said. “He tried to pay it online.”
Harder said two of their credit cards didn’t go through, but a third did.
“He called the courthouse the next day and they told him they do not send emails for traffic violations,” Harder said.
That’s when the couple realized they had been scammed. They have since decided to cancel all three cards just to be safe.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and local law enforcement want people to know these messages are fake.
“We don’t send texts requesting payment,” said Lauren McLaughlin with WSDOT. “If you have an account, you may get an email if you have a toll bill overdue, but usually we wouldn’t be texting you out of the blue saying ‘Hey, you’ve got this toll bill. Come pay it now.'”
Spokane Police says it would never send you a red light ticket via text or email. Those tickets will also come in the mail.
SPD and WSDOT advised people to report these scams to either Crime Check at 509-456-2233 or to the FBI internet complaint center here. You can also report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission by clicking here.
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