Scam text messages target FasTrak users
FasTrak scam that hit the Bay Area last month has returned with a slicker look and a more sophisticated trap to draw money from unsuspecting drivers.
Over the past week, drivers throughout the Bay Area have received text messages from a sender posing as the region’s toll collector, directing them to one of several websites to pay FasTrak charges.
One such missive, sent to a reporter’s family member at 10:30 p.m. Thursday evening, cited “a $3.95 charge associated with your recent FasTrak Express Lanes activity.”
“To avoid further penalties, settle the amount by March 23, 2024, via the link provided,” the message continued, offering a link to BayAreaFasTrakexpress.com. The website, which cribbed FasTrak’s green triangular logo, had a link to make payments, and a tell: a dollar sign in the wrong place.
Drivers with FasTrak accounts pay tolls electronically via transponders mounted on their windshields, or photographs snapped of their litan cense plates as they pass through a toll lane. People without accounts receive invoices in the mail after cameras capture their license plates.
February’s FasTrak scheme sent customers to a website registered in Hong Kong, but the new one has referred them to multiple fraudulent sites registered in different countries, including Hong Kong and Russia, said John Goodwin, spokesperson for the MetropoliA Transportation Commission, the regional body that makes planning and policy decisions for the Bay Area, and operates the seven state-run bridges.
Another twist: This round of text messages has better spelling, Goodwin said.
He warned motorists to be suspicious of any text message they see asking for a FasTrak payment. FasTrak will never communicate with customers or ask for payment by text message, he said.
Officials at MTC urge anyone duped by the text message scam to consider calling their bank or credit card company. Meanwhile, technology workers at the commission are “on the case” trying to get the sites taken down, Goodwin said, in the face of what may be an international crime ring.