Fraudulent Electronic Communication

 

The Illinois Tollway is advising I-PASS customers to disregard phishing texts being sent to their phones from “Illinois toll way” that detail a specific outstanding toll amount. If you receive a text and are unsure, please check your account online at www.illinoistollway.com or call our customer service center at 1-800-UC-IPASS (1-800-824-7277) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

I-PASS customers should delete any text that you receive stating an outstanding toll amount. The Tollway has been informed that this is a phishing scam claiming that recipients owe money for unpaid tolls.

If you receive a phishing text, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov. That is a site dedicated to sharing information on Internet crimes across law enforcement agencies.

Phishing

One of the most common types of fraudulent electronic communication is called phishing. Phishing email messages, websites and phone calls are designed to steal money. Email Phishing is the practice of sending fraudulent email messages that are disguised as legitimate and often include company logos that look real.

A common online phishing scam starts with an email message that looks like an official notice from a trusted source, such as a credit card company or reputable online merchant. In the email message, recipients are directed to a fraudulent website or asked to open an attachment that may contain potential email viruses. The information obtained is then usually used for identity theft.

The Illinois Tollway will never use email to request that you reply with your password, Social Security number or confidential personal information. Never reply to or click the links in a message that has characteristics of a phishing email. If you think the message may be legitimate, go directly to the company's website by typing the real URL into your browser or contact the company to see if you really do need to take the action described in the email message.

What To Do

When you recognize a phishing message, do not click on any links or attachments. Delete the email message from your Inbox and then empty it from the deleted items folder to avoid accidentally accessing the websites to which it points.

Please forward suspicious emails that appear to be from the Illinois Tollway to info@getipass.com

Characteristics of a Phishing Email

  1. Asks for personal information: Many phishing emails request personal information such as credit card or account information, passwords, etc. Legitimate emails will never ask you to perform security-related changes to your account or send emails to collect user names, passwords, email addresses or other personal information through email.
  2. Official-looking sender's email address: The "From" line may include an email address that appears legitimate.
  3. False claims: Many phishing emails make false claims about the status of your account and ask you to update or validate your account by clicking on an embedded link in the email. Some may also include a false sense of urgency and state that your account may be in jeopardy if it is not updated immediately.
  4. Fake links: Many phishing emails include links that look valid but that send you to a spoof site. Never click on these links as the URL (web page address) shown may appear to be legitimate but may actually display a different URL when you hover over the link with your mouse.
  5. Attachments: Never click on attachments as they may cause you to download spyware or a virus.
  6. Spelling and poor grammar: Many phishing emails contain typos and poor grammar in the content.
  7. Scam artists use graphics in email that appear to be connected to legitimate websites but actually take you to phony scam sites or legitimate-looking pop-up windows.

Update Requests

Any requests by the Illinois Tollway pertaining to customer account information are made through the Tollway's official website (www.illinoistollway.com). We DO NOT use non-Tollway entities (third-party websites) to collect or modify customer account information.