ATLANTA — Intimidating text messages are popping up on cell phones all over metro Atlanta threatening the receiver to pay up or be penalized.
The texts not only mention Peach Pass, but they also link to a website with a web address that is nearly identical to the real Peach Pass website and even looks like the real thing if you click the link.
“They’re getting very creative. They’re actually using a portion of our domain, mypeachpass.com, which of course is how our customers are able to access their accounts, but they’re adding letters and other characters behind it,” said Peach Pass spokesperson Ericka Bayonne.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
In just a week since Channel 2 Action News Investigates warned about the scam toll texts, the scheme has already gotten more sophisticated with the scammers even stealing Peach Pass logos and images to make their fake website look legitimate.
“We would never, and I say this emphatically because I really want customers to understand, Peach Pass will never send you a text message asking for your personal information, your banking information,” Bayonne.
At the Peach Pass customer service center in downtown Atlanta, Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray met Creshon Saunders.
Saunders went in person to the Peach Pass office to check on her account, after receiving a text warning her that she could face severe penalties or even legal action if she did not pay an unpaid toll bill.
MORE FROM 2 INVESTIGATES:
- Woman says she was kicked off health insurance over ‘systematic failure’ from federal agencies
- Descendants of slaves buried in Johns Creek cemetery worry more graves exist
- South Fulton residents face numerous issues from ‘one-stop shop’ homes
“I’m like, this is kind of suspicious. I’ve never gotten a text from Peach Pass before. So, I ended up calling the Peach Pass office and she said, immediately, that’s a scam,” Saunders said.
Just a week ago, a Channel 2 Action News Investigates story reported on the rise of these toll texts.
Hundreds of you commented on our Facebook post.
One viewer wrote, “I believe every cell phone owner in America has gotten some form of this text!!”
Peach Pass is reporting the illegal use of their copyrighted logos and images on the fake websites to investigators at the FTC and FBI. And they have put an alert about the scam texts on their website.
“You can protect yourself by just simply, don’t click it. We say don’t click. It is a trick,” Bayonne said
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
