Last Updated on March 18, 2025 1:40 pm
Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the North Carolina Turnpike Authority Director are alerting North Carolinians to a text message-based scam from scammers claiming to be from NC Quick Pass and demanding payment for overdue tolls. In early 2024, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 2,000 complaints about fraudulent toll texts in at least three states over a month’s time. The number of states and complaints continued to grow as the campaign reached more consumers across the country.
The majority of these texts were geolocated by international law enforcement to Canada, which is where scammers began originating these texts in 2024. Now, the perpetrators seem to have moved the operation to the United States, and Americans are still being targeted and inundated with these scam texts. The Department of Justice has been working with federal and international law enforcement partners to investigate the source of these scams and how scammers are able to use URLs that so closely resemble a legitimate NC Quick Pass website.
Here’s how to verify a valid text from NC Quick Pass:
- NC Quick Pass will never request payment by text.
- NC Quick Pass will only send texts from the secure short code 696277. (This is the “sender” of your text message.)
- All links associated with NC Quick Pass will include ncquickpass.com or secure.ncquickpass.com.
- Remember that NC Quick Pass will never threaten you with legal action for an unpaid toll. You also won’t lose your license for not paying an unpaid toll.
This scam is part of a series of scams that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is aware of. If you receive one of these scam texts, you should:
- File a complaint with the IC3, www.ic3.gov, and be sure to include, the phone number the text originated from and the website listed within the text.
- Check your account using the toll service's legitimate website.
- Contact the toll service's customer service phone number.
- Delete any smishing texts received.
- If you clicked any link or provided your information, take efforts to secure your personal information and financial accounts. Dispute any unfamiliar charges.
You can learn more about how to identify phishing texts and scams at https://ncdoj.gov/internet-safety/phishing/. More information on toll text scams is available at https://www.ncquickpass.com/identify-a-scam/. If you’re unsure about whether a message you have received is legitimate, contact the Turnpike Authority at www.ncquickpass.com.
