The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have warned they have seen an upsurge in fraudulen unpaid toll road text message scams that either come from an unknown number or include the word Linkt in the senders display

Scams involving text messages related to toll roads have been preying on customers of prominent toll road companies, like Linkt in Melbourne and E-Toll in Sydney since 2020

Cybercriminals are attempting to deceive road users into pressing a link that directs to a credible-looking yet false website intended to take your personal or financial data.

Fraudsters attempt to deceive anyone by sending out a plethora of phony messages in the expectation that someone isn’t paying attention and will press on a link and be fooled into revealing their private data.

Messages can arrive during the Early hours of the morning with a feeling of great urgency due to the “unpaid” e-toll or the “outstanding amount”.

In an online statement in November Linkt stated, “We will never email or SMS you to ask for your personal information or login details.

“We may ask you to verify your personal details to authenticate your identity when we speak to you over the phone.” it said

If you receive a notification that allegedly states you owe money on a toll road bill or don’t have sufficient funds, it could be a hoax.

In September the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported it had received around 2,000 reports on the Linkt scam between January and September this year.

Road users who suspect they have been the target of a fraudulent communication from someone claiming to be Linkt, can report it using the scam report form. 

The Cyber Security Operations team at Linkt is working with telecommunications providers to identify and block phone numbers sending the scam message texts.