A text says you owe a small fee: a parcel held at the depot, an unpaid toll, a fine or tax due. Its link opens a page that looks official and asks for your card.
Text Message
TxTag: You have an unpaid toll of $4.15. Pay by Nov 12 to avoid a $50 late fee: https://txtag-
On this page
Text Message
TxTag: You have an unpaid toll of $4.15. Pay by Nov 12 to avoid a $50 late fee: https://txtag-
Text Message
USPS: Your parcel is held at our depot. Pay a $1.30 redelivery fee: https://usps-
From to me
DMV: Final notice. You have an unpaid traffic fine of $35.00. Pay within 48 hours to avoid suspension of your license: https://dmv-
Examples. The names and amounts change; the shape doesn't.
A small fee, paid through a link. A few dollars feels harmless to pay. The fee is how they get your card number.
A deadline or a threat. A late fee, a suspended license, a parcel sent back. It rushes you, so you don't stop to check.
A link to a website you don't know. A company's name in the link proves nothing: anyone can register a name like txtag-tolls.
Then a code. After your card, the page may ask for the code your bank just sent. That code approves their payment, not yours.
“Reply Y to open the link.” Some texts ask you to reply first, so that your phone lets you tap the link.
Don't tap the link, and don't reply.
Fines, tolls, taxes and parcels: check on the official website yourself. Not through a link or number in a message. Type the address you know, or use the app. If you really owe something, it will be there.
Still not sure? Check the message. We open its link on a phone and a computer, not yours, and tell you what it is.
Then delete it. You can report it to your police or your country's fraud reporting service. Your phone may also let you report it as junk or spam. In the US and UK, you can also forward a scam text to 7726.
In the US: ReportFraud.ftc.gov (the FTC's website, opens in a new tab)
The fee is small, so paying feels harmless, and the deadline leaves no time to think. But the page isn't after the fee: it's after your card number, for bigger payments later.