ROCHESTER, N.Y. – It’s an old scam with a new twist. And we’ve already heard from viewers who have fallen victim. It’s the unpaid toll text message scam. I warned readers earlier this year about versions of this scam.

But this time this old scam has a new twist. The scammers created a web address that even made some Thruway Authority leaders do a double-take. The text says it comes from New York Toll Services. It claims you have an unpaid toll of $5.89, and you need to pay it to avoid an extra charge of $150. Then it provides a link to the following address: tollbymailsny.com. Take a close look. The real address for the Thruway Authority is www.tollsbymailny.com. Note that the word toll should be plural and the word mail is not. And that’s how the scammers have gotten sneakier. The fake web address is so close to the real one, that the spokesperson for the Thruway told me even she did a double-take.

Since March, I’ve alerted viewers to three different scam web addresses that claim to be the Thruway Authority. They are the following: nytollservices.com, tollspayny.com, and the message so many New Yorkers got over the weekend, tollbymailsny.com.

I researched the domain names because I wanted to know when they were registered, and learned all were registered this year. That’s a big red flag because the real Thruway Authority has taken online payments for years. And the registration location indicates that our scammers may live in Peru.

It’s certainly possible these three websites were purchased by the same scammers, and when one fake website was taken down, they’d just buy another domain name. Please know that the only way the thruway will send you a text message is if you initiate it. For example, EZ Pass users can sign up for text message notifications.

If you get one of these scam messages, do not click on the link. Thieves create those fake websites usually to steal your personal information and your identity.

For more information on Thruway Authority impersonation scams, click here.