A phishing text message warning of a legal threat and financial penalties has been hitting users and even non-drivers of Los Angeles County’s Metro ExpressLanes.
The spam has led to a flood of complaints from Metro ExpressLanes users, who have been calling the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority seeking verification and advice, Metro authorities have noted.
Metro officials said they posted a warning about the fraudulent text messages on their homepage as soon as they became aware of the scam.
“The ExpressLanes system has not been hacked, and no customer information has been compromised,” the message said .
Metro ExpressLanes are restricted lanes on the 10 and 110 freeways that motorists can use to speed past traffic on regular lanes. Users pay tolls that are based on dynamic pricing that adjusts according to the level of traffic. The tolls are collected through a FaTrak transponder mounted on a vehicle’s dashboard.