Smishing scams from the Pennsylvania turnpike and how to avoid them

A scam is going around in the form of a text telling people they owe money for trips on the Pennsylvania turnpike or on the road in general. One text read “to prevent further fees totaling $106, please settle the due amount of $106.” It also gives a website to pay the funds, but a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokesman confirmed that the website is fake and asks for credit card information for identity theft. This problem is called smishing, which is coined by the FBI for hackers to use phishing scams with secret message service. Smishing started in March when residents in Illinois began receiving the texts, supposedly from the Illinois Tollway and various phone numbers were given out to scammers claiming to act as the specific state toll for people that view the text. If you see these texts or see emails that ask for personal information, do not answer them and delete them.