Editorial: A turnpike toll scam? Say it isn’t so
Share this post:
Do you owe the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission?
Maybe. It can happen. The Toll By Plate system makes it possible to rack up tolls that can become fees that can become more. Even an E-ZPass transponder can end up with unexpected red ink now and then.
But that doesn’t mean you should accept a text warning of your toll debts at face value.
The scam is called smishing. It’s the text version of a phishing ploy where a criminal gets your phone number and sends you a text purporting to be from a legitimate organization. It scares you into believing you are in trouble for an unpaid bill and gives you a link to take care of it. Best case scenario, you pay the bill and lose that money. Worst, you have handed your personal information to someone who uses it fraudulently — and you lose a lot more.
The commission is letting people know about the scam, which has been going on since April. It isn’t by just one person. It’s various people from various numbers sending texts that may be harder to discern as fraudulent than an email. In a longer message, there are more chances to catch small cues like a wrong address or a misspelling. Texts are supposed to be brief and may often skip the odd letter to save space.
This fraud, like any fraud, is offensive to innocent people. There are plenty of Pennsylvanians who will get a notification of a bill owed to the state and reflexively pay it without researching further. Many of those will be seniors. Live anywhere along the turnpike, and it becomes much easier to believe you inadvertently used the toll road and forgot to make a payment.
But it’s also tempting to look at this with a cocked eyebrow and a slight snort.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is warning people that tolls are a scam? Oh. You don’t say.
The commission just instituted its latest toll increase Jan. 5. Tolls went up 5%. There’s a base rate of $0.07 per mile plus $1.09 per segment for E-ZPass and double that for Toll By Plate. In announcing the increase, the commission said it’s more of a standardization that won’t really be an increase for all customers, many of whom will actually pay less or just a $1 increase per trip.
Did you understand that? They say “$1 increase per trip” like it’s inconsequential. For people who depend on the turnpike for work, it’s not. It’s $10 a week. It’s $520 a year.
It’s unfortunate for the commission that they are seen as the villain in these situations because the demand for steady toll increases is something the turnpike is forced to bear by the Legislature.
But it still gives you a wry bark of laughter when you see the commission warning people of a toll scam.
We get it. We’re well aware.