E-ZPass issues ‘Special alert’ to all drivers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania

An alert if you use E-ZPass in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or beyond: scammers are going after you. Big time. And it's very easy to be a victim.

Quick E-ZPass facts

• E-ZPass is the largest toll-collection program in the world
• Drivers in 20 states can use E-ZPass
• There are over 35 million accounts
• Over 59 million E-ZPass tags are in use
• The system has collected nearly $14 billion in tolls

With millions of customers across half of the country, this is a potential gold mine for scammers, especially if you aren't paying close attention.

Don't fall for this E-ZPass scam

Officials say a text messaging scam is targeting drivers with the goal of stealing your personal information.

NJ E-ZPass urges customers to be cautious with email, text, and phone scams demanding payment of outstanding toll balances. There have been efforts to trick customers into sharing credit card numbers and other sensitive information by directing them to a website to pay their outstanding balances.

Experts say if you get a suspicious text message, do not click on the link to even look at the website.

What to do

If you think you accidentally gave scammers your personal and/or banking information,

Customers who have clicked the link and filled out the form should immediately contact their bank or credit card provider.

Keep a very close watch on your finances.

What a scam E-ZPass message might look like

Protect yourself from the E-ZPass scam

If you receive a text message or email about your E-ZPass account, the best thing you can do is go to their websites directly — don't click on any links, just type their website addresses into your browser:

• New Jersey — https://www.ezpassnj.com/

• Pennsylvania — https://www.paturnpike.com/e-zpass

FBI issues alert to E-ZPass users

This scam has been going around for quite some time. In fact, it is so widespread that the FBI is involved as they have received thousands of complaints from numerous states.

If you received one of these bogus messages or were a victim, you can report it via the FBI website.