Massachusetts transportation officials are warning drivers about a new scam.
Hundreds of people have received text messages claiming to be from EZ DriveMA.
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The Massachusetts Department of Transportation warns that this is part of a smishing scam – a scam that tries to get victims to give away their personal information. The FBI is helping to investigate.
How one driver caught on to the EZ DriveMA text scam
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Glen Deramond received one of these texts and said at first, it seemed legitimate.
“I was having lunch and this text came in from EZ driver MA apparently,” he told NBC10 Boston.
At first glance it seemed like a typical reminder for Deramond to pay a $6.99 bill. But he noticed it came from a foreign phone number.
“There was a country code attached to the number it came from which happens to be 63 which is the Philippines.”
A closer look revealed other flaws.
“Another thing that kinda struck me was it says it came from EZDrive LDW and that didn’t make any sense because it’s EZDrive MA.”
Cybersecurity experts warn users not to click links provided in these types of texts.
But Deramond clicked it, which revealed a page hyperlinked with sites leading to a page requesting payment, along with hyperlinks to the EZDrive MA website.
Deramond noticed a scam warning at the top of the website decided to call EZDrive MA directly.
“He said was it for $6.99? And I said yea and he said that they had gotten hundreds of calls today because other people -including him the customer service guy got the same text message.”
What to do if you receive an EZ DriveMA scam text message
The FBI recommends filing a complaint through IC3 if you receive one of these texts, including the phone number you received it from and the website linked. After you’ve reported the details, delete the text.
MassDOT said the numbers that have received the scam texts were chosen at random and not uniquely associated with an account or usage of toll roads.
MassDOT warns that they will never request payment by text. If you are worried you do have a legitimate bill to pay, contact the officials Massachusetts tolls customer service phone number at 877- 627-7745 or go directly to their site at EZDriveMA.com – don’t click any links in a text.
If you did click any links, take steps to secure your personal information, and dispute any unfamiliar charges with your bank or financial institution.
