Google Vows to Stop Scam E-Z Pass and Usps Texts Plaguing Americans

Postedabout 2 months agoActiveabout 2 months ago

BlackPlot

20 points

5 comments

arstechnica.comTechstory

skepticalmixed

Debate

40/100

ScamsPhone SecurityRegulation

Key topics

Scams

Phone Security

Regulation

Google plans to stop scam E-Z Pass and USPS texts, sparking discussion on the effectiveness of this move and potential solutions to phone scams.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Light discussion

First comment

Peak period

1-2h

Avg / period

1.7

Key moments

01Story posted
Nov 12, 2025 at 6:04 AM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 01
02First comment
Nov 12, 2025 at 7:38 AM EST
2h after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
2 comments in 1-2h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03
04Latest activity
Nov 12, 2025 at 1:15 PM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (5 comments)

Showing 5 comments

jeffwask

about 2 months ago

1 reply

It was wild how quickly the E-Z Pass scammers knew that I had been on a road trip and passed through those tolls. I live in TX and drove to MA for Christmas last year and these started right when I got back. They are almost def on the inside at this point.

PaulHoule

about 2 months ago

Not sure if they are smart or just lucky.

A friend of mine got evicted illegally from the homeless shelter and got a moderately sized settlement which was a challenge for him to receive because he made it to his 50s without ever getting a bank account.

He started getting scam texts from someone who kept needing money to get a bus ticket to visit him and one time claimed to be at the local airport needing money for a cab ride. One of our friends convinced him to take a cab to the airport himself to meet this "person" who wasn't there.

We were thinking that they might have targeted him based on public records but I can say in the last few months I've met five people who are think are scammers sending me DMs on the like of Mastodon, Bluesky and Tumblr.

jt2190

about 2 months ago

> Damages are not specified in the complaint, which accused the Lighthouse enterprise of committing wire fraud and violating the [U.S.] Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Lanham Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, among other allegations.

I guess this is a first step toward some larger legal goal? It’s not even clear if “Lighthouse” is the name of an overseas company or just the name of the service.

nubinetwork

about 2 months ago

Excuse me while I laugh...

Oh wait, you're being serious...

Let me laugh even harder...

lunias

about 2 months ago

Why don't we just create a better system? In order for you to text / call me, you must first request to be able to text / call me; you can't modify this request or add your own language to it, this request identifies your device. Also allow me to toggle off "Allow new requests" and I feel like the phone starts working the way it should.

View full discussion on Hacker News

ID: 45898721Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 1:35:57 PM

Want the full context?

Jump to the original sources

Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.

Open link View on HN