Jennifer Lane received a text message Tuesday afternoon that purportedly warned her of an unpaid “wage bill” in New Hampshire. The message claimed that if she did not pay her $4.15 balance immediately, a $35 late fee would be added.

Lane immediately realized it was a scam. The chief communications officer and his team for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, which manages the state’s E-ZPass electronic fare collection system, had sent out an alert several hours earlier to warn customers about the scam.

So he did exactly what the DOT told the public to do if it received such a message.

“I immediately notified my mobile operator. I did not click on any links,” he said, adding that he would never provide personal or banking information if a request was received via text message, email or phone call.

If you know even the basics of cybersecurity, then you know”phishing” refers to the use of deceptive tactics online to trick someone into revealing sensitive information, such as clicking on a link in an untrustworthy email. When scammers use these tactics by sending messages via text messaging service or SMS, they call it “shooter” fraud.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation said an unknown number of Granite Staters were reportedly targeted in an apparent scam. It looks like real cases reported It has been rolled out to other states in recent months, but local messages are tailored to New Hampshire residents.

“It looks realistic, but the typos are obvious,” Lane said.

In this case, scammers appear to be targeting phone numbers with a 603 area code without any visible information about whether a number is linked to any of the state’s approximately 588,000 E-ZPass accounts.

“Another employee in the office who did not have an E-ZPass also received (a smishing message),” he added.

E-ZPass in New Hampshire will never send text messages requesting payment of tolls that include late fees, according to DOT message. Account holders should instead use: official NH Toll E-ZPass website or the NH E-ZPass mobile app.

If you receive a smishing message, you can alert your phone carrier and file a report with the FBI by forwarding the suspicious message to 7726 (SPAM). Internet Crimes Complaint CenterDOT noted:

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Steven Porter can be reached at [email protected]. follow him @reporterporter.