Oklahoma Turnpike Authority warns of new round of toll scam texts

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says we’re seeing another round of scam texts, telling people they owe money. The OTA has some simple advice on how to handle them. Just like all these scam texts people get, all they need to do is ignore them and delete them.

The toll scam has been going around for about a year now.

It’s called smishing, when scammers impersonate a reputable company or government agency to trick people into giving up their personal information or money.

Multiple News On 6 viewers say they’ve received fake text messages that say they owe a toll and need to click on a link or call a number to avoid having their PikePass turned off. In many cases, the phone number is from overseas.

OTA says you can usually spot warning signs right in the text.

"Usually, you get some signs just by reading the message. If it doesn’t have the correct names or the correct URL, that’s a dead giveaway and you should go ahead and report that as junk or as spam on your phone, and definitely do not click any links on it," said Lisa Shearer-Salim with the OTA.

Never click on a link, scan a QR code, or call a number in an unexpected text or email.

If you have any questions about a text message that says it’s from OTA, you can check your balance by calling the customer service line at 1-800-PIKEPASS during business hours, or you can also email the agency at pikepass.com.

Imposter scams were the second most common scam in America in 2023, taking nearly $3 billion from victims. Number one was investment scams, costing Americans nearly $5 billion.