Scammers target drivers with fake tolls and ticket threats

Every day, drivers find themselves being insulted by one text after another. One tricky warning hitting smartphones in 2026 threatens to lose your driver’s license if you don’t deal with those unpaid tickets soon. Another is that old document about unpaid tolls.

Cities across the country – Detroit; in Boston; Columbus, Ohio; Providence, Rhode Island, and more – warns that all those documents about unpaid parking tickets and toll roads are illegal.

On Monday morning, March 23, some metro Detroit drivers reported receiving a bogus text from the “36th Judicial District” in Detroit saying they needed to scan a QR code to pay an unpaid balance. The violation listed was: “Parking Violation/Toll Violation.” No dollar amount was given for what he was said to be owed.

If drivers don’t pay now, a bogus “notice of default” says they must appear at 9am on Tuesday 24 March for a court hearing. Scam. The so-called “Judge: Michael Rodriguez” is not the judge here.

One text was sent from area code 737, which serves Austin, Texas, and surrounding areas, not Detroit.

The 36th Circuit Court notes on its official website: “We have received reports of a text message scam that says you owe court fines and must pay immediately to avoid heavy fines. These messages are NOT from the court or any legal agency. DO NOT click on links or provide payment or personal information. The court will not contact you with a text message demanding payment. If you receive a suspicious message to local authorities and do not report the sender.”

Police warned in March that residents were receiving fake messages about so-called parking violations, often involving a QR code used to pay.

Some consumers report receiving texts like this: “Our records show that your vehicle was parked in a non-parking space (restricted parking space), in violation of applicable traffic laws. This notice serves as a legal requirement for payment.”

Fraudsters know we’ll be on the move – even if the price of fuel goes up – and they’re sure to hit us again with more scams disguised as claims for unpaid tolls and unpaid parking tickets. After all, we are entering the great driving season.

Families with high school students may be hitting the road for spring break soon, while many more may be traveling for Easter, Easter, Mother’s Day and other special occasions ahead.

Fake documents will usually direct you to a link to pay. Or in some cases, consumers are told to scan a QR code. Don’t do it.

Fraudsters take control of the situation by making consumers leave quickly – before anyone thinks anything of it. They make us believe that we have to buy gift cards or click a link or scan a QR code immediately to avoid major problems.

Michigan consumers made hundreds of complaints about fraudulent documents last year, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who issued another warning about toll or ticket scams on Friday, March 20.

Common versions of a toll or ticket scam, according to the alert, include fake court notices, impersonations of government agencies, or fake messages from private toll companies.

Recently, the AG’s office noted, scam messages included the image “Notice of Civil Violation Hearing.”

The notice, which claims to be from the district court, falsely warns that the buyer must appear in person for a hearing or plead guilty and pay a fine before the hearing date. “The scam includes a QR code that leads to a deceptive website,” according to the AG’s office.

The 36th District Court in Wayne County, Michigan, warned in early February that fake messages were claiming people owed money for “unpaid parking citations.” The court also clarified that it does not send messages about unpaid parking bills.

Consumers also receive fake documents that appear to be from the Michigan Department of Transportation, Secretary of State, and toll collection systems like SunPass and E-ZPass.

One of the latest scams is renewing old toll road documents. Nessel also warned in early March that a fake text claiming to be from “Judge John Smith” of the 36th District Court in Wayne County tells drivers to scan a QR code because “a payment has not been received for a toll violation related to your vehicle.”

Also, drivers were told they had to appear at the 36th District Court in Detroit or scan that QR code.

One red flag: “Judge John Smith”, what you might expect, is a fake name used in a scam that aims to steal your money and personal information.

“The current wave of scam texts hitting Michigan phone numbers appears to be much larger than previous waves of similar scam messages,” according to Danny Wimmer, a spokesman for Nessel.

Wimmer told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Friday, March 20, that the latest documents do not name any specific municipality or area.

Fortunately, he said, Michigan citizens who notified the AG’s office knew the documents were a scam and often didn’t click on any links or interact with the sender.

Text messages about unpaid tolls, unpaid speeding tickets and unpaid parking tickets are similar to other fake messages about undelivered packages, arrest warrants and job offers.

The reality is that most people drive, order online, have bank accounts and computers. Criminals who send instant texts are sure to trick a person into thinking that maybe the next text is about a real story. Maybe, we think, my computer has a virus.

“If the bad guys send enough of those, whether it’s phone calls or texts, they’re going to hit people who say ‘Oh, yeah, I was expecting a FedEx package today’ or ‘Oh yeah, I was driving on this toll road that I don’t take very often. I don’t have an E-ZPass,'” said Teresa Murray, who directs the nonprofit’s US office. the group.

Some scams are always popular for good reason.

His advice: Don’t respond to any text you receive without reason.

“People have to be bigger, more skeptical, more confused, more afraid, whatever you want to say,” Murray told the Detroit Free Press.

“People should be very embarrassed about any kind of phone call or any kind of unexpected text,” Murray said.

All kinds of red flags exist, he noted, related to text or domain or logo. But some warnings are very simple, too.

“The simplest warning is that it’s not expected,” Murray said, “be careful.”

Murray said scammers now have more tools to make a text or robocall seem more believable. Others will research how much a typical parking ticket costs in a certain city to make the text seem more believable, she said.

Some may sound genuine – even in textual matter – because the scammer doesn’t know a few details about you, either. Usually, scammers just send a bunch of random texts, hoping to catch someone off guard.

Some bad actors even go so far as to create “fraudulent” parking tickets. The fake ticket will ask consumers to pay online or use a QR code.

During the Detroit Auto Show in early 2026, the Michigan AG’s office warned that fraudsters may imitate the logos and names of city offices on these fake tickets. Best bet: Search online for official city parking ticket websites. Check out what’s available on the site and compare what you see on the ticket. Government sites must end in .gov or .ca in Canada.

The AG’s office recommends that you visit that municipality’s website directly or call the courthouse and confirm the existence of the ticket before following the web or QR code directions.

“In many ways, I think scam texts are more dangerous than scam calls,” Murray said.

You can choose to answer the call or not. Many times, your phone will alert you to a potential scam call. Or always let the call go to voicemail. Scammers may not even leave a voice message.

“With text, you can’t help but see a preview of the text,” he said. “You’ll see the first few lines even if you don’t open it.”

The text creates an urgency that your bank account has been hacked. Or that you owe a toll or ticket. You feel that you have to act quickly. And if you want to know, you can – incorrectly – click on a link or scan a QR code.

“What I tell people is don’t be curious,” Murray said.

The old saying is that curiosity killed the cat when it was too loud. Murray likes to suggest: “Well, curiosity got the better of you.”

Some red flags for texts sent by scammers, according to Nessel and other experts, include:

• The text is sent with an unusually long phone number, usually 10 or more digits.
• The text may include a potentially shortened or cheap link.
• You are told that you must act now to avoid more headaches.
• The text may contain grammatical and spelling errors, but this is not always the case.
• You will be asked to scan a QR code, click a link or provide personal or financial information.

Remember, a government agency will not ask for money by email, phone, or text.

“They will send you a notification and offer payment options and will not ask for or take payment via a prepaid gift card, bank transfer, cryptocurrency, or payment app,” according to Nessel’s warning.

This article first appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Scammers target drivers with fake tolls and ticket threats.

Reporting by Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press

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