Fake toll bill texts are on the rise, WSDOT warns

• The texts often will ask for final payment and direct people to fake websites, even threatening legal action if they don't pay, Lauren McLaughlin with WSDOT's tolling division told Axios.

Reality check: WSDOT and Good To Go! will never ask someone to resolve an unpaid toll bill via text, McLaughlin said.

• Real texts from Good To Go! might alert customers about expired credit cards or low account balances but will always urge them to log into their Good To Go! accounts to take action — not direct them to a questionable website, she said.
• The fake websites might include "mygoodtogo.com" in the URL, but typically add extra characters, like letters or numbers, after the ".com," McLaughlin said.

What to do: If you get a text about a toll bill, don't click on the link — instead, log in to your MyGoodToGo.com account. "Anything we'd be texting you about would be visible on your dashboard," McLaughlin said.

• People who don't have Good To Go! accounts won't receive texts from the system, she said.

• WSDOT is also asking people who receive the scam texts to report them to the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The big picture: The FTC warns scams impersonating different tolling agencies are appearing coast to coast.

• The federal agency also advises checking with the local tolling agency directly and ignoring any texted links attempting to collect a bill.