CLEVELAND, Ohio — I bet, like me, you are so sick and tired of them at this point.
The never-ending stream of text messages that try to scare us into paying a missed toll while traveling on America's highways, like the Ohio Turnpike.
I spoke with Jon Clay with Trend Micro.
He told me nationwide, there has been a 900% increase in "toll road scams" searches online in the last three months.
“It's obviously working because the scammers are continuing to do this. In fact, I got one just the other day on my phone," said Clay.
Despite the Ohio Turnpike's best efforts to keep this scam in the spotlight and me sharing what to watch out for, people are still clicking on the link in the text message, with many paying the often small amount they think they owe.
“They say your total is $3 or $4 or $1, right? People are like, yeah, I can pay that, because they say the fine is going to be $150 to $200 and, you know, and they, people get worried that they don't want to have to pay the extra money,” said Clay.
Clay said the texts keep showing up on our phones because that small dollar amount is working in another way, making it an easier payday that flies under the radar of law enforcement.
This is a case of you can trick one person to give you $1 million, or you can convince a million people to give you $1.
The BBB of Greater Cleveland suggests instead of clicking on the link in the text message, go to your web browser and to the toll service’s actual website. Then you can log onto your account to check your balance.
You can also call the toll service’s customer service line, but don't call the number that texted you or any numbers included in the message.
You can find the real number on the toll service’s website.
And we'll keep repeating it: don't click on any web links that get texted to you:
RELATED: Check your text messages for a scam making the rounds again
Scammers can disguise a URL to appear legitimate when it isn’t.
Block the number and delete the message.
If you receive a text message impersonating a road toll collection service, file a report with BBB Scam Tracker at BBB.org.
