No, you did not just get a real text to pay unpaid tolls. It's a scam.

As the summer vacation season kicks off later this month, drivers might want to be on high alert for yet another travel-related scam, which oddly enough, relates to toll roads. It's a scam that is heating up already this spring.

Many of us hit the Ohio Turnpike, a 241-mile toll road, as we drive off to Cleveland or drive farther out toward states along the East Coast. Or we might drive toll roads in Florida or other states.

What do you do if you get a text that purports to be a message from a state toll road collection system? And it says you owe roughly $12 now in toll fees but you must pay it immediately to avoid a $50 late penalty? You might even be given options to click here to quickly pay that lingering toll with a credit card or bank transfer.

Best bet: Don't do it. Ignore the fake text.

All sorts of consumer watchdogs, toll road systems and law enforcement authorities are warning about an uptick in a turnpike scam. Consumers who are spotting these texts say they look fairly legitimate, somehow suggesting a new way of addressing toll charges. But it's a scam.

On Monday, the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula told me it received four scam reports that day alone regarding toll fees in Michigan.

"We believe the scammers must have sent out numerous texts all at once to several people in our service area since these reports all came in around the same time" on Monday, according to Nakia Mills, director of marketing for the BBB offices in Southfield.

One person shared a text message with the BBB that claimed to be from "Michigan toll services." The message stated: "We've noticed an outstanding balance of $11.69 on your record. To prevent a late fee of $50.00," the message then listed a link that implied to be from the SunPass system for settling the invoice.

The Florida SunPass system notes in an online alert that it does not ask drivers via text to make a payment or take immediate action to settle an account. "These messages are not sent by SunPass," according to the alert.

The local BBB put out an alert on the toll collection scam on Tuesday morning.

“While Michigan does have tolls at bridges and tunnels, we don’t even have toll roads, so luckily for those of us in Michigan, simply being told we owe a fee for a toll road fee should be a red flag unless you were recently traveling out of state," said Melanie Duquesnel, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

Many people will be traveling more in the weeks ahead so it is important to keep such alerts in mind. The BBB advises that instead of clicking on links within text messages, independently verify outstanding toll balances through official channels. You can access the toll service's website directly via a web browser or contact their customer service line using verified contact details.

The E-ZPass Group issued a warning, too, about an uptick in fraudulent text messages being sent to customers.

The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission warns that the text message scam fraudulently claims to represent toll road agencies across the country and demands that people hand over money quickly for unpaid tolls.

The Ohio turnpike commission stressed that the phony texts "are not uniquely associated with an account or usage of toll roads."

Here's the thing: The scammers appear to be texting phone numbers at random, according to the Ohio commission.

Scammers, of course, recognize times when we're all stuck in traffic, such as when Cleveland and other areas in Ohio were in the path of totality for the 2024 eclipse on April 8.

Or maybe in the case of Florida, the scam texts attempt to exploit the surge in spring break and summer vacation travel.

No doubt, scam texts will attempt to trap the thousands of NFL fans who may have used toll roads elsewhere when they drove to and from the 2024 NFL draft in Detroit in late April.

Truck drivers and others in several states — including Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas — are being targeted with these toll road scams, according to an alert from the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, a worldwide association for the owners and operators of toll facilities.

A text message that claims to be “NJ Turnpike toll services," for example, directs drivers to click a link to pay an outstanding toll balance in order to avoid a late fee, according to the alert.

The outstanding toll balances described in the text messages are not real. "Drivers who receive text messages like these should delete them without clicking on the link. And drivers who have clicked the link and filled out the form should immediately contact their bank or credit card provider," according to the recent alert from the turnpike association.

An FBI service announcement on the scam, which was issued April 12, encourages toll road providers to put warnings about the scheme on their websites.

The Michigan Department of Transportation, for example, has a warning at the top of its site for the Blue Water Bridge, a critical gateway between the United States and Canada. It reads: "The FBI has issued a warning about fraudulent SMS text messages attempting to scam toll road users. The Blue Water Bridge does not contact customers via text. The Blue Water Bridge sends e-mail notifications directly to customers at their registered e-mail addresses."

The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center said the center has received more than 2,000 complaints between early March and mid-April about such text scams relating to collecting unpaid tolls.

The text that the FBI highlighted began: "We've noticed an outstanding toll amount of $12.51 on your record. To avoid a late fee of $50.00," the text then suggested the driver visit a specific website provided to settle the balance.

The FBI said the "outstanding toll amount" is similar among the complaints reported to its internet crime center. The link provided within the text impersonates a state's toll service name, and the phone numbers appear to change between states.

You won't just lose $12 or more. You're also handing over key financial account information to crooks.

The FBI warning suggests that consumers to go www.ic3.gov to file a complaint and provide the phone number from where the text originated and the website listed in the text.

Delete any fake texts received. Do not click on any links provided in these text messages. If you clicked any link or provided your information, contact your bank and try to secure your personal information and financial accounts. Dispute any unfamiliar charges. Make sure to contact the toll service provider directly at the correct number, if you're concerned about unpaid tolls.

And yes, scammers are truly hiding around every turn.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) @tompor.