What Happened
The Federal Trade Commission published new data Thursday saying imposter scams were the top reported scam for the ninth year in a row. In 2025, the FTC received more than 1 million reports about imposter scams, and reported losses rose nearly 20% to $3.5 billion. That is not a scam category anymore. That is a shadow economy wearing a fake badge.
The FTC said government imposter scam reports were up 40%, helped in part by bogus messages about overdue tolls. These texts often spoof familiar programs like EZ-Pass, SunPass, FasTrak, or TxTag, then threaten late fees or suspended vehicle registration if the target does not pay immediately. It is the perfect modern con: take something boring, add urgency, sprinkle in a familiar logo, and watch people panic-tap their way into a thief's payment form.
The agency's advice is blunt. If you get a text demanding money for unpaid tolls, contact the state toll agency using a phone number or website you already know is real. Do not use the link or contact information from the text. The scammer's whole plan depends on making the fake door look faster than the real one.
The FTC also said romance scams were rising in reports, with reported losses up 22%. The agency described the familiar long-game setup: someone builds a relationship online, then one day the conversation turns to money or investment help. The person is not there to help. They are there to drain the account while calling it destiny.
Why This Matters
Imposter scams work because they borrow authority. Government names, toll agencies, banks, employers, delivery services, police departments, court notices, fake recruiters, fake lovers, fake investment mentors: every version is built on the same ugly premise. If the message looks official or intimate enough, the victim may act before thinking.
The toll-text boom is especially nasty because it targets normal administrative anxiety. Plenty of people have used toll roads, moved between states, rented cars, forgotten bills, or dealt with confusing payment portals. A text saying "pay now or your registration gets suspended" lands in a believable little puddle of dread. The scammer does not need a brilliant script. They just need the victim to imagine a DMV line.
Romance scams are worse in a different way. They weaponize loneliness, trust, and hope. The FTC's warning about online love interests suddenly asking for money should be posted on every dating app in letters tall enough to annoy venture capitalists. If someone you have never met in person steers you toward sending money, crypto, gift cards, wire transfers, or "investment" deposits, the relationship has become a crime scene.
The Dumb Part With A Payment Link
The stupidest part is how many institutions have trained people to accept exactly this kind of communication. Real companies send weird links. Real agencies use clunky portals. Real toll programs have confusing names. Real customer service can be hard to reach. Scammers are not inventing trust problems from scratch; they are farming the ones bureaucracy already planted.
That does not mean every agency text is fake. It means the burden has shifted onto regular people to perform tiny cybersecurity rituals before paying anything. Check the official website. Type the address yourself. Call the number from a statement, not the message. Search the agency name plus "scam." Ask a real human before sending money to a new online love interest. Modern life now requires treating a $6 toll notice like it might be part of an international heist, because sometimes it is.
The FTC tells people to report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. That matters because reports help investigators see patterns. The individual text may look like a mosquito. A million reports start to show the swamp.
The Bottom Line
If a message demands urgent payment, slow down. If it threatens fees, suspension, arrest, account closure, or lost romance, slow down more. Urgency is the scammer's favorite seasoning because it makes terrible decisions taste like responsibility.
The FTC's numbers show that imposter scams are not fading; they are adapting. Fake toll collectors, fake agencies, fake recruiters, fake soulmates, fake investment helpers: different costumes, same wallet. The cheapest defense is still the least glamorous one. Do not click the panic link. Go to the real source yourself. If love, law enforcement, or a toll road truly needs your money, it can survive five minutes of verification.
Sources
FTC Consumer Advice: New trends in reports of imposter scams