So you think it’s EZ, Scammers do to

Love breezing through tollbooths with your E-Z Pass? A new scam is taking advantage of that.

Here’s how it works: You get an email that appears to be from E-Z Pass. It has the E-Z Pass logo, and says you owe money for driving on a toll road. It also provides a link to click for your invoice.

Guess what? The email isn’t from E-Z Pass. If you click on the link, the crooks running this scam may put malware on your machine. And if you respond to the email with your personal information, they’re likely to steal your identity.

This E-Z Pass email is the latest in a long line of phishing scams, where fraudsters pretend to be legitimate businesses as a way to get access to people’s personal information. But adopting a few online security habits can help you avoid phishing scams:

•    Never click on links in emails unless you’re sure who sent you the message.
•    Don’t respond to any emails that ask for personal or financial information. Email isn’t a secure way to send that information.
•    Type an organization’s URL yourself, and don’t send personal or financial information unless the URL begins with https (the “s” stands for secure).
•    If an email looks like it is from E-Z Pass, contact E-Z Pass customer service to confirm that it is really from them.
•    Keep your computer security software current.

If you might have been tricked by a phishing email:

•    Forward it to spam@uce.gov and to the company impersonated in the email.
•    File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.
•    Visit the FTC’s Identity Theft website at ftc.gov/idtheft. Victims of phishing could become victims of identity theft, but there are steps to take to reduce your risk.

OnGuardOnline.gov has more information about phishing scams.

by Lisa Weintraub Schifferle, FTC