(WSVN) - A lot of us have seen that text on your phone that says you didn’t pay a toll or a ticket — and you are about to be in big trouble. Who are these scammers, and how can you stop them? It’s why one South Florida woman called Help me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
The email to us came from Victor Estefan — but it wasn’t from Victor Estefan.
Sujey Estefan: “We have it like that because we honor him every day.”
Victor Estefan — a Miami Police officer murdered by two men at a traffic stop in 1988.
Sujey Estefan: “I go to the cemetery, I go the mausoleum, I clean it, I talk to him.”
Sujey is his daughter-in-law, and when you hear “fallen but not forgotten,” they are not just words in the law enforcement community.
Sujey Estefan: “And I go to these memorials, and we have to share our stories. So he would always be remembered.”
It’s Sujey’s support of the police that got her so irritated with the texts she keeps getting.
Sujey Estefan: “You’re wondering, ‘Is this true? Is this false? What’s going on?'”
It seems everyone with an iPhone is getting hit with these texts.
Sujey Estefan: “‘You still have an outstanding traffic ticket.'”
They claim to be from the Department of Motor Vehicles or SunPass.
Person reading text: “‘You have an unpaid toll bill.'”
Person reading text: “‘If you do not complete payment, we will suspend your vehicle registration.'”
Person reading text: “‘You may be prosecuted.'”
Sujey wasn’t fooled.
Sujey Estefan: “I knew that it was a fake thing, saying that we had to pay tolls, and I’m like, ‘I don’t even drive through the toll.'”
The texts tell you to ‘Hit Y’ or go to the website they provide to pay your bill. Once you give them your credit card number, you are scammed.
Sujey Estefan: “Don’t try to click on it, because they’ll steal your information.”
You can spot the scammers’ texts because some are sent from area codes like +63 in the Philippines, +44 from the United Kingdom.
Look at this one: Msprvs1. Easy to see they’re not from Florida.
But many of us know people getting fooled.
Sujey Estefan: “And he’s like, ‘We have to pay the toll.’ I’m like, ‘What toll? We don’t go through the tolls, relax.'”
Sujey knows the hackers do it to make money. What she doesn’t know is who’s doing it.
Sujey Estefan: “Help Me Howard can do an investigation and find out who’s behind texting.”
Your turn, Howard.
Howard Finkelstein: “Because these crooks are so sophisticated, it’s almost impossible for law enforcement to track them down, and most of them bounce from server to server in different countries, so even if you tracked them down, you couldn’t arrest them or get any money back.”
We contacted the Florida Turnpike, which runs SunPass. A spokesperson said they’ve shut down 4,200 websites the scammers have created this year to lure in Floridians.
They have also put up billboards to warn people about the scam and even a message when you call SunPass.
Operator: “SunPass does not ask customers via text to make a payment or to take immediate action on their account.”
Apparently, the warnings from SunPass are working, because the scammers are shifting from claiming you have unpaid tolls with SunPass to unpaid tickets from the Department of Motor Vehicles. They are also now impersonating the Postal Service and sending out texts — like this one from Toronto to me — that says, “Are you free to have afternoon tea with me today?”
Sujey Estefan: “And he sacrificed his life being an officer.”
And Sujey, from a law enforcement family, wants it all to stop.
Sujey Estefan: “And that’s why we’re here to warn people that these text messages are false.”
And we cannot find a single person in Florida who has been arrested for these scams. The only way to stop them is to hit delete. With no money coming in, they’ll have to try something else, or consider getting a real job.
Problem taking a toll on you? Ready to shake up the scammers. Send it to us, ’cause our price is right. We don’t charge anything.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser 7News.
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Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
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