Scam of the Week · July 29, 2026 · Nature Coast, FL

“SunPass: You have an unpaid toll of $6.99. Pay now to avoid a late fee.”

That text is not from SunPass — and the FBI has logged more than 2,000 complaints about texts just like it. The link steals your card number. Here’s the two-second rule that keeps you safe.

What it looks like

A text arrives saying you owe a small toll — usually something believable like $6.99 or $12.50 — with a warning that late fees or even a license suspension are coming if you don’t pay today. There’s a link. The small amount is the trick: it’s not enough money to make you suspicious, so people tap and pay without a second thought. The page that opens looks like SunPass. It isn’t.

How it works

  • They send thousands of texts. It costs them almost nothing, and they only need a few people a day to tap.
  • The link opens a fake payment page. Whatever card number, name, and address you type in goes straight to the criminals — who then run real charges on your card.
  • The deadline is the tell. Any text that demands payment through a link, with a threat attached, is a scam. Real toll agencies do not collect by text — ever.

What to do

First: don’t tap the link. Not to peek, not to check — delete the text. Second: if you genuinely wonder whether you owe a toll (maybe you drove to Orlando last week), open the official SunPass app or type sunpass.com into your browser yourself, and look there. If your account is fine in the place you navigated to, you’re fine. Third: report the text at the FBI’s ic3.gov — it takes two minutes and helps them track these crews. That’s the whole defense: never pay from a link someone sent you; only pay at an address you typed yourself.

The one rule: A real bill will wait while you check it. A fake one begs you to hurry. If a text demands payment by link, delete it — and if you want to be sure, check the official site or app on your own. And if you tapped before you read this, you’re in good company — these texts fool smart people precisely because the amount is so small.

If it already happened

No shame — these criminals fool smart people. Call your bank or card company at the number on the back of your card right away and ask them to cancel and reissue it, then report: National Elder Fraud Hotline 1-833-372-8311 · FBI ic3.gov · FTC 1-877-382-4357.

Questions, or want a gut-check on a text you received? Call or text (352) 836-1337 — it’s free, and it’s what I’m here for. — Jeffery, Nature Coast Tech Guardian

Sources: FBI IC3 smishing alerts (2,000+ SunPass-themed complaints); SunPass official guidance — tolls are never collected by text. More: the 6 scams hitting our area right now.