Hampton Roads, Va. - VDOT is warning customers of a new email phishing scam going around.
The emails look official, displaying the EZPass logo, alerting customers, "You have not paid for driving on a toll road."
It tells them to "service your debt in the shortest time possible" and the invoice can be downloaded by clicking "here."
According to VDOT, though, it’s all fake, part of a brand new email phishing scam.
“We are not going to click on the link and we don't recommend anyone else click on it either,” said Ron Watrous with VDOT Hampton Roads.
Watrous tells NewsChannel 3 the EZPass group notified the state about the potential scam on Tuesday.
The first clue of something fishy can be found in the sender's email addresses.
None of them actually go to an official EZPass email account.
“Usually you can just tell a scam immediately by checking the return address on the email, and then comparing it to official source,” said Watrous. “All of our email addresses have the word “EZPass” included.”
Even though VDOT sometimes uses email to communicate with their customers, Watrous says they never send invoices or ask for payment that way.
“We never bill through email. All billing statements come through U.S. mail,” said Watrous.
VDOT took immediate action, posting this message on their EZPass Virginia website and sending warning emails to all their customers.
All they can do is hope people don't fall victim to these scammers.
“They are trying to gather personal information, usually accounts, to gain access to your money. It’s best to not use the link. Stay away from it, delete it, and don't give anybody any information via email that you don't know,” said Watrous.
