A nationwide text scam targeting Minnesotans is ramping up, and if you haven’t received one, you likely know someone who has.

The texts are made to look like they’re from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) or its E-ZPass program and as for payment on an “outstanding toll” — but MnDOT says that’s not how it works. 

“We will never text or email for payment or personal information,” Sue Gergen, with the E-ZPass team, said. She adds drivers have to be signed up to be billed. 

“You have to have an account and a valid tag in your car,” Gergen said. “Then that’s what we use, that account and tag [and] that’s how you make your payments.”

Still, even people not part of the program are receiving the texts, and cyber security experts say it’s best not to respond or click on any links.

“First things first, do not engage,” Jason Baker, with GuidePoint Security, said. 

Baker said a couple of red flags with this scam are the country code attached to the text, which is not for the United States, and the link does not have a .com, .org, or .gov ending. 

“If you do have an iPhone, iMessage by default is set to make it so that any link that you’re getting from an unknown contact is going to be blocked. It’s not going to work. So don’t change that setting or any kind of security settings that are in there for your safety,” he added about the protections some people already have in place. 

Given this scam’s nationwide reach, the FBI has been looking into it for about a year now — people can file a complaint with their “Internet Crime Complaint Center” to help them document and investigate this scam. 

MnDOT has more information on the scam HERE.