A Washington couple is warning the public after they lost more than $23,000 to a scam involving a fake WSDOT text message that’s being sent to families across the Puget Sound.
Deborah told KIRO 7 News that her husband received a text message on Thursday, March 13, about an unpaid toll – not knowing it was a scam.
Her husband shared his personal information to pay off the toll, thinking the message was real since they had recently traveled across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to pick up a new puppy in Gig Harbor.
“Recently going over a toll bridge, the timing was right,” said Deborah.
The next day, he receives another text message from a scammer, pretending to be Wells Fargo and asking him if he had made a recent purchase of more than $600.
If not, the bank would call him.
After responding “NO,” he received a call from the scammer, who used his personal information he had shared the day before, further convincing him he was on the phone with his bank.
“They’re good. They’re really good. That chick knew everything. She said the right things and reassured us we were doing the right thing, and the whole time we weren’t,” said Deborah.
The scammer said a bank manager was attempting to steal their money, and to stop or cancel the fraudulent transactions, the couple would need to send the same amount to a separate account.
Deborah said the scammers knew exactly what they were doing to convince her husband.
“Within a Wells Fargo app, if you go to wire transfers, it tells you not to make the same transfer twice in 30 minutes, that it will cancel out the transfer,” she shared.
Deborah said her family has filed a report with law enforcement and contacted Wells Fargo.
KIRO 7 News reached out to the company to get more details and its response. A spokesperson said they were working with their fraud department to get more details.
As of Wednesday afternoon, we’re still waiting for more information.
We also reached out to the Washington State Department of Transportation and are currently waiting for its response.
The couple is now warning the public to be cautious, hoping others will not fall victim to the region-wide scam.
“If you have any doubts at all, hang up and call the institution directly,” Deborah said.
©2025 Cox Media Group
