The Arizona Department of Transportation is warning people about a text scam telling Arizonans they have toll fees that need to be paid immediately.
ADOT said it just learned about the latest version of the scam, which has been going on for at least several weeks.
“Yesterday we were made aware of a flavor of this that mentioned AZDOT and had part of our website in the bogus link,” said ADOT’s Steve Elliott, noting that the agency does not use the letter Z in its abbreviation.
ADOT has received various calls about the scam. The department learned about the use of the wrong agency scam and partial use of their website this week through people calling asking questions.
Receiving a toll scam text himself after traveling to other states, he was initially confused. After running the number, which originated in the Philippines, he realized it was a scam.
The state itself has no toll highways, and will not collect money on behalf of other states.
“We understand the confusion,” Elliott said. “We want people to be absolutely clear that this is not ADOT looking for toll money.”
And ADOT would not use text messages to try to collect money.
“Just be aware someone looking for money is not going to be texting you,” Elliott said.
If you have received one of the texts from AZDOT, don’t click the links — delete and report the text to junk. People may also report their texts to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
These scam messages often originate from foreign countries and use broken English.
“In terms of what ADOT recommends, it is what the FBI recommends and simply recognize these scams for what they are,” Elliott said.
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