ORLANDO, Fla. – SunPass is warning its customers about a possible scam targeting drivers with past-due tolls.
Customers have been contacted by third-parties to solicit payments of past due tolls using the email address SunPassNotice@ezpass-collections.net, according to a post on SunPass.com.
The email links to an alleged invoice and sends people to a website that is not affiliated with SunPass, officials said.
The fraudulent emails includes the message, “Please find the attached invoice for past due tolls that have been charged to your Sun Pass account. Failure to pay will result in a summons for court appearance within 30 days.”
Here is how SunPass customers are finding out about the third party solicitors. So far Sunpass has not sent an email to customers or posted anything on their social media. You heard it here first! @news6wkmg @SunPass_FDOT pic.twitter.com/OR21gDhjhl
— Adrianna Iwasinski (@AdriannaNews6) January 8, 2019
Florida Department of Transportation officials said the solicitations also include a link to an alleged invoice and that the sender is identified as “Sun Pass Collections Inc,” or “Sun Pass Collections Inc Linebargar Goggen Blaiir, LLP.”
News 6 contacted the law firm Linebarger, Goggan Blair and Sampson, LLP, which has offices in Orlando, Jacksonville and Miami and specialized in professional collection services.
On its website, it advertises itself as a national law firm with a practice dedicated to the collection of delinquent government receivables. The law firm's national tolls director James Harris confirms the correspondence did not come from them.
“Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson is not, in any way, connected with this attempt to mislead Florida drivers. We echo what the FDOT says in its statement – if you get an email solicitation purporting to be from the state or from us, it is fake and should be ignored," Harris said. "No legitimate toll collections effort would include communication of this sort. It is our hope that the people responsible for this are identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The fraudulent emails sent out to customers have a typo in the law firm's name.
Customers are warned not to make payments solicited through email. Official toll invoices are sent only through U.S. mail.
The official and only website to make payment is www.SunPass.com or www.TollByPlate.com.
Anyone with questions regarding their account can visit SunPass.com, or contact the SunPass Customer Service Center at 1-888-TOLL-FLA (1-888-865-5352).