Scams: Fake NZTA toll fee text circulates in Tauranga

A new scam masquerading as the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is making the rounds in Tauranga, asking people to pay late road toll fees.

It contains a message from the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi asking people to pay unknown late fees and a link to where to pay.

The text message was received by a SunLive reader, who wished to stay anonymous, on Tuesday.

“It was weird that I got the message not long after using the toll road on January 4,” she said.

Bad grammar and an overseas phone number tipped her off that it was not a genuine request from NZTA, she said.

A copy of the scam NZTA text message making its way across the city, asking people to make bogus road toll payments.

“But not everyone pays attention to bad grammar.”

An NZTA spokesperson acknowledged in a statement how frustrating and unsettling these scams can be.

“We encourage anyone who receives suspicious text messages, emails, or other communications to report them to us straight away.”

NZTA said official text messages would only come from a 3651 number and never include a link for online transactions.

Alternatively, NZTA had launched an app for New Zealanders to securely access their driver’s licence and vehicle information.

“We are also working with police, Cert NZ, and Netsafe to combat the scammers.

“However, they are relentless and persistent, with new fraudulent websites appearing as soon as one is taken down or blocked.”

The scam itself is a variation of the another scam pretending to be the NZTA, where it will ask for registration or driver’s licence renewal.

NZTA said it has an online form where people can report suspected phishing scams.

“The sooner we know about it, the faster we can act to protect you and others,” the spokesperson said.