FBI warns iPhone and Android users – laid out the received texts

Re -released on February 8 with news of further attacks in front of this weekend and more detailed analysis of the Chinese cyber criminals now aimed at Americans.

Be careful – there is an ugly new threat working over America. The FBI Warnings “The scam may move from state to state” and advise users that they need to delete any of these received texts-let them not be on your phone. If this scam is not already in town where you live, the chances are that it will soon be and it is too easy to get dipped. Here’s what you need to know.

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If you have received a text that warns, you owe money for unpaid toll, “it’s probably a scam,” FTC says. “Scammers are pretending to be bombing dentures from coast to coast and send texts that require money.” And the consequences are serious. “Not only does the scammer try to steal your money, but if you click on the link, they can get your personal info (like your driver’s license number) – and even steal your identity.”

The fusure is stupidly simple, a text that pretends to be from the local agency with a dollar amount and a link to pay. This is a phishing attack -or a smearing attack to be more accurate as this is almost always a text rather than an E email.

Last month alone, there were media reports from Massachusetts, California, North and South Carolina, Illinois, Colorado, Florida and more. It’s always the same text style and it’s always a scam. This has become a question at national level. A viral threat.

The FBI says it began to receive reports of scams in March 2024, when thousands of citizens “reported Smishing texts representing road tax services” since then. The texts, the agency say: “Requirements that the recipient owes money for unpaid tolls and contains almost identical language. However, the ‘outstanding toll amount’ is the same … The link delivered in the text is created, however, to emulate the State Toll Service name, and phone numbers appear to change between states. “

One of the latest cities to warn about the scam is Big fallswho issued his warning about X on Thursday, and said the citizens “This is a scam and does not come from the city of Great Falls. Do not click on the link in the message. “

The FBI’s advice is simple and it will ensure that you do not participate in the thousands who are already dipped. “Check your account using Toll Service’s legitimate site (or) Contact Toll Service’s Customer Service Phone Number.” And then critically you have to delete any of these texts received. You don’t want these malicious links on your phone.

If you have already fallen victim, “make an effort to secure your personal information and financial accounts (and) contest any unknown fees.” This may mean contacting your bank or credit card if you have already paid and if you have given address details be on duty against new applications for credit or other services in your name.

According to Knowbe4“Similar scams are reported in other states, including Florida (targeted at Sunpass users), Texas (North Texas Toll Authority), California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota and Washington. These phishing attacks often involve realistic looking sites that mimic official tolling authority sites, but only work on mobile devices, making them even more compelling to unsuspecting users. “

The probable guilty is believed to be gangs that use “updated commercial phishing sets developed by Chinese cyber criminal groups. These sets include templates designed specifically to mimic toll operators in multiple states. “In addition to toll, these gangs have used similar tactics to emulate shipping companies, tax agencies and immigration services that are often targeted at people who are new to a country or in vulnerable positions. The ultimate goal is to steal debit card information, add them to mobile wallets and make fake purchases or white laundering money through shell companies. “

This joins the scourge of other viral scams aimed at citizens. For these toll attacks, you can add phantom hacker bank attacks, false support calls and even make-faith police officers who require payments to avoid arrest. While some of these attacks are AI-driven and difficult to discover as you can see below, toll fraud is silly simple, similar to most of the spray-feeling campaigns you see.

And such text fraud grows. The example This week by a woman in Florida who fell victim to a scammer who “knew her name and convinced her that her phone had been hacked (who then) instructed her to pull thousands of dollars from her bank and deposit it in a safe Cryptocurrency account to protect her funds, ”are common. And it’s not just the United States, this is a global problem. Yesterday, an energy company in Europe warned 1 million customers to delete false SMS messages from the company.

As for toll fraud, new reports are now becoming an almost daily event. As reported by Local mediaFriday, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is the latest to warn of “Another round of scam texts and tell people they owe money. OTA has some simple tips on how to handle them. Like all these scam texts people get, all they have to do is ignore them and delete them. “Who repeats the FBI advice.

Despite AI improvements to new phishing and smishing attacks, OTA reports that these toll fraud is not too sophisticated and should be easy enough to spot if you are protected from them. This is as basic as it comes. There is also another conclusion that the attacks are carried out outside the United States, with China at the intersection.

“More news of 6 viewers says they have received fake text messages saying they owe a toll and need to click on a link or call a number to avoid getting their pik pass off. In many cases, the phone number is from abroad. OTA says you can usually see warning signs right in the text. ‘Usually you get some characters just by reading the message. If it does not have the correct names or the correct URL, it is a dead gift and you have to go ahead and report it as a junk or as spam on your phone and certainly do not click any links on it ‘. “

This Chinese angle adds spice to the plague of toll fraud and comes only weeks after the FBI and America’s Cyber ​​Defense Agency warned citizens to stop sending texts that got Chinese hackers infiltrating US networks. As explained by the recognized security investigator Brian Krebs“The emergence of these SMS phishing -attacks coincided with the release of new phishing -kit features that carefully mimic these toll operators when they appear on mobile devices. Remarkably, none of the phishing pages will even load unless the site detects that visitors come from a mobile device. “

Krebs quotes scientists on Secalliancesuggesting that “the amount of SMS -phishing -fitting that falsified toll operators, skyrocket after the new year, with at least a Chinese cyber criminal group known for selling sophisticated SMS -Phishing -kits started offering new phishing sides designed to spoof bombing operators in various US states. “

SMS -phishing sets are characteristic and make it clear that more bad actors work at once. “The ultimate goal of these sets is that phish enough information from the victims that their debit cards can be added to mobile wallets and used to buy goods in physical stores, online or to launder money through Shell companies.”

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Consumer Affairs Proposes “the selection criteria for targets remain unclear, where Massdot notes that targeted phone numbers occur randomly and are not linked to the use of toll. Some recipients, like a reader on Mastodon, reported that they received these messages despite not owning a vehicle. Authorities recommend ignoring or deleting such messages and reporting them to the FBI’s Claim Center Center for Internet Crime (IC3) with details of the original phone number and the site. “

The advice is always simple. Do not take unsolicited calls from banks or technical support. Never agree to install software or move money. Do not pay the Cold Calling police asking for cash. And never click on toll that emerges unexpectedly in text messages. Stick to these basics, then you kill any attempt to scam you right at first.