“Linkt: unpaid toll $6.87, pay now to avoid a $40 fee” — real notice, or scam?
Toll texts are the most common scam message forwarded to us, edging out parcels, and for the same reason: almost everyone has driven a toll road, the amount is tiny, and the threat is proportionate — an admin fee, a fine, a registration hold. Nothing about it feels like a con. It feels like admin.
The page takes your card details, and sometimes your licence number and date of birth. The $6.87 is charged (or not); what matters to the scammer is the card, which is used for larger purchases within the day. Some versions skip the card and ask you to “log in” to a fake Linkt account page, harvesting your details for later.
How to tell in ten seconds
- Read the address before the first single slash. Linkt is linkt.com.au. E-Toll is myetoll.transport.nsw.gov.au. EastLink is eastlink.com.au. The scam versions add words or change the ending: linkt-tollpay.co, linkt.com-au.net, linkt-au.com. A hyphen after the brand name is nearly always a stranger.
- Real notices don't threaten your registration in 24 hours. Toll operators send a toll notice, then a reminder, over weeks. Escalation to a fine comes from a state road authority, by post, much later. A text that jumps from $6.87 to a registration hold by tomorrow is inventing a process.
- Did you drive a toll road? If the answer is no, you're done. If yes, that's exactly why you should check in the app rather than through the text — a real notice will be there, and the text is either a copy of it or a fake.
- Real texts name you or your account. Linkt messages to account holders reference the account. “Our records show” addressed to nobody is a mass mailing.
Why the number proves nothing
The text may show “Linkt” as the sender, or arrive from a mobile number, or even land in a thread with genuine earlier Linkt messages. Sender names are set by whoever sends the text. Since July 2026 unregistered business names may show as Unverified, which helps, but the link address is the only thing that identifies a message.
If you already paid through the link
Ring your bank now — the number on the back of your card — and say I entered my card on a scam site. They'll cancel the card and watch for charges; if the $6.87 went through, ask about a chargeback on anything else that appears. If you also entered your licence number or date of birth, call IDCARE on 1800 595 160. Report the text at Scamwatch and delete it.
The person you worry about
A parent who drove to the airport last week will pay this without a second thought, because it's small and it's plausible. Is it a scam? reads the link, sees it isn't linkt.com.au, and says so in about ten seconds — and if it is linkt.com.au, says that too, with the advice to pay through the app anyway. Try the free checker on the next one.
Common questions
Does Linkt send text messages about unpaid tolls?
Yes, to account holders, and they link to linkt.com.au. The scam texts copy that format. The only reliable difference is the address the link goes to: anything other than linkt.com.au is not Linkt.
What are the real toll websites in Australia?
Linkt (Transurban, most states): linkt.com.au. E-Toll (NSW): myetoll.transport.nsw.gov.au. EastLink (Victoria): eastlink.com.au. Read the part immediately before the first single slash; if it isn't exactly one of these, it's a lookalike.
Can an unpaid toll really put a hold on my registration?
Eventually, through a state road authority after a toll notice, reminders and a fine, over weeks or months and by post. No toll operator suspends a registration by text within 24 hours. That threat is the tell.
I paid $6.87 through the link. Is it worth ringing the bank over that?
Yes. The $6.87 is not the point; your card details are. Ring the bank, have the card cancelled and watch the statement. If you entered a licence number or date of birth, call IDCARE.
I don't have a Linkt account. Why did I get a toll notice?
Because the text was sent to thousands of numbers at once. Not having an account is the simplest possible proof it's a scam. Delete it.
Small amount, plausible story, fake address. The most forwarded text in the country.
Is it a scam? checks the link against the real toll operators and answers in about ten seconds. One Australian number, nothing for the protected person to install.
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