NDDOT Addresses Concerns Over Unexpected Text Messages

Be careful about what text messages you open on your phone! A post was made in Bismarck's People Reporting News today, (Tuesday, February 25th) bringing attention to an odd text message an anonymous member received.

The text message said the person had an outstanding "Toll balance" through the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

If you've lived in North Dakota for a while, you probably know that we don't have any toll bridges/stops in the state. However, if you haven't been here long, you could easily fall victim to this scam.

To clear up any confusion, I reached out to the North Dakota Department of Transportation. They told me the messages were not coming from them and that people should be careful.

"These fraudulent texts are not being sent out by the North Dakota Department of Transportation. North Dakota does not have any toll roads or bridges within its borders."

They went on to tell residents that when receiving messages like this, there are red flags we should look out for:

• Unknown sender -- usually containing an area code from outside the U.S. (The U.S. country code is 1+.)
• Links that end in anything other than .gov
• An urgent call to action, sometimes using threats of additional fees if you don't act quickly
• Poor phrasing or misspelling

"We have gotten 87 calls today so far," regarding the messages, said Brad Schaffer, Director of Driver Vehicle Services.

NDDOT also said in its official statement that there are two things people can do when they receive these messages.

• Press the blue 'Report Junk' message at the bottom of the screen. This will allow you to block the user and report the message as spam.
• Reach out to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We hope you found this information useful. Please be careful dealing with these types of messages in the future.