Unpaid Toll Scams
Waves of texts claiming you owe a few dollars in unpaid tolls — usually impersonating Linkt or E-Toll — have flooded Australian phones. The amounts are deliberately small, often around $3, but the fake payment page captures your full card details and personal information.
This guide explains how the scam works, the warning signs to watch for, and what to do if you've been caught out. Got a specific message in front of you? Check it now and get an instant verdict.
How this scam works
A text arrives claiming you have an outstanding toll — typically an oddly specific small amount like $3.32 — and warns of late fees, debt collection or even licence suspension if you don't pay promptly. The link opens a page mimicking Linkt or E-Toll that asks for your card number and often your name, address and licence details. The small amount is the point: it feels easier to just pay than to check, and because plenty of drivers do occasionally use toll roads, the message seems plausible. Once you 'pay', the scammers hold your full card details and identity information, which they use for far larger fraudulent charges. The texts are sent indiscriminately — most recipients haven't driven a toll road at all.
What the scam looks like
These composed examples show how the scam typically reads, with the tells that give each one away. Compare them against anything you've received.
Linkt: You have an unpaid toll of $3.58. To avoid a late fee and suspension of your vehicle registration, settle now at linkt-tollpay[.]example.
What gives it away:
- No account number, licence plate or trip details; genuine toll notices identify the actual travel
- The domain is a lookalike, not linkt.com.au; check unpaid tolls by typing the operator's address yourself
- A few dollars paired with a registration-suspension threat is the signature mismatch of this scam
E-Toll FINAL NOTICE: Your toll invoice remains outstanding. Failure to pay today will result in referral to debt collection and additional charges of $57.60. Pay now at etoll-notices[.]invalid.
What gives it away:
- Real toll operators escalate gradually through documented notices with reasonable timeframes, not same-day SMS deadlines
- A 'final notice' with no earlier notice, no plate and no trip breakdown is a mass blast
- Searching your own plate on the operator's real website shows no such debt
Subject: Toll payment declined. Your recent toll payment could not be processed. Update your card details at linkt-billing-update[.]example within 24 hours to avoid account suspension and late fees.
What gives it away:
- 'Update your card' through an emailed link is card harvesting; open your toll account by typing the address yourself
- Generic greeting with no account number or plate: the sender doesn't know who you are
- The 24-hour suspension deadline is manufactured urgency
Who gets targeted, and when
Anyone with an Australian mobile number: the texts are blasted indiscriminately, and most recipients haven't used a toll road at all. Drivers in toll-heavy cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are the natural marks, because an occasionally missed toll is entirely plausible to them. People who rarely check their toll account are the most likely to just pay the small amount to make the threat go away.
Toll texts arrive in year-round waves, with clear surges around holiday travel: the Christmas and January road-trip season, Easter and school holidays, when far more people have genuinely driven unfamiliar toll roads. A burst also tends to follow publicity about real toll notices or price changes, which makes a payment demand feel timely.
How to spot it
- Toll demands arriving as urgent SMS payment links — toll operators issue notices with reasonable timeframes, not 'pay in 24 hours or else' texts
- Domains that aren't linkt.com.au, etoll.com.au or eastlink.com.au — hyphenated or .com/.co variations in the style of 'linkt-au[.]com' are fake
- Tiny amounts ($3–$10) paired with outsized threats like late fees, debt collectors or licence suspension
- You don't drive on toll roads, or the toll road named isn't in your state
- No account number, licence plate or trip details — genuine toll notices identify the actual travel
What to do if you have been targeted
- If you entered card details, call your bank immediately to block the card and dispute any charges
- Check whether you genuinely owe a toll by typing linkt.com.au into your browser and logging in or using their unpaid toll search — never via the SMS link
- If you provided licence or identity details, contact IDCARE (idcare.org) for free identity support
- Report the text to Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au), then delete it
- Keep an eye on your card statement for weeks afterwards — stolen details are often used after a delay
Where to report it
- Scamwatch — Report the scam to the ACCC's national scam service.
- ReportCyber — Report cybercrime and financial loss to the police.
- ACMA — Complain about scam texts and spam SMS, email or calls.
- Forward to 7226 (SCAM) — Forward the scam SMS to short code 7226 so carriers can block the source.
- IDCARE — Free identity and cyber support if your details were taken.
How to protect yourself
- Check unpaid tolls only by typing your operator's address (such as linkt.com.au) into your browser or using its official app, never through a message link
- Treat any toll demand with no plate, trip or account details as a mass-blast scam
- Don't pay small amounts 'just to be safe'; the card details you type in are the real prize
- Forward scam toll texts to 7226 (spells SCAM), then delete them
- Warn the other drivers in your household; these texts arrive in waves and often reach every number in a family within days
Unpaid Toll Scams in 2026
Unpaid-toll texts remain among the most common scam messages reaching Australian phones, arriving in coordinated waves that rotate between Linkt and E-Toll branding while reusing the same tiny-amount hook. Recent waves have grown more aggressive in their threats, escalating from late fees to registration suspension and debt collection, and some now follow the text with a matching 'payment declined' email for credibility. The lookalike domains churn constantly, so memorising bad addresses matters less than the habit: a real toll debt always shows when you search your own plate or account on the operator's official site, and a demand that exists only as a link in a text never survives that check.
Related brands targeted by this scam
Scammers often impersonate these names in unpaid toll scams. Here's how to tell a genuine message from a fake:
Check a suspicious message now
Paste the text or email you're unsure about and get an instant verdict — unpaid toll scams included, free.
Frequently asked questions
I got a text saying I owe $3.32 in unpaid tolls. Is it real?
Almost certainly not. These small-amount toll texts are a mass-blast scam impersonating Linkt and E-Toll. If you want certainty, don't use the link — type linkt.com.au into your browser and check for unpaid tolls against your own plate or account. If nothing shows there, the text was a scam.
Why is the scam amount so small?
Because small amounts get paid without scrutiny. Nobody calls their bank over $3 — they just enter their card and move on. The scammers aren't after the $3; they're after the full card number, expiry and security code you type in, which they then use for much larger charges.
I do use toll roads sometimes. How do I check if I really owe something?
Go directly to the operator: type linkt.com.au (or your state's toll operator) into your browser, then log in or use their unpaid-toll search with your licence plate. Genuine toll debts always show up there. Never trust the link or phone number inside an SMS.
What actually happens if a real toll goes unpaid?
You receive a toll notice from the operator — typically by mail or email to your registered account — with a clear breakdown of the trip and a reasonable window to pay. Escalation is gradual and documented. A text demanding a few dollars 'today' to avoid licence suspension is not how Australian toll operators work.
How do I report a fake Linkt or E-Toll text?
Forward the SMS to 7226 (spells SCAM) so carriers can block the sender, and report it to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au so the National Anti-Scam Centre can track the wave. If you entered card details or lost money, call your bank first, then report it to ReportCyber at cyber.gov.au. Then delete the text; there is no toll to pay.
Related scam types
Other scams hitting Australians right now — know the warning signs:
Sources
- Text or SMS scams (Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre))
- Phishing scams (Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre))
- Report a scam (Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre))
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice — if you've lost money, contact your bank and the reporting channels above straight away.