It's a scam. The message looks like this: “In order to avoid excessive late fees and potential legal action on statements, please pay the fee in time.” It also includes a link to a website.

News 8 On Your Side consumer investigator Brian Roche is counting down the top scams of 2023, and an easily avoidable scam is in the No. 5 spot. Skip to content NOWCAST WGAL News 8 Today at 9:00am ...

This is by no means a new scam with the FBI reports about such malicious behavior going back to April 2024, however, the recent surge may indicate that it's sticking around because it's working.

The scam includes a text that claims the person owes money for unpaid tolls and that they will face a $50 late fee if they don’t pay it immediately.

With a scam known as “brushing,” cybercriminals will ship packages with no return address that contain a QR code, prompting the confused recipient to scan the code to reveal who sent the package.