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Sun Pass Fraud Scam

TheTimeTraveler

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The State of Florida has announced that someone has been sending out emails to say that the owners Sun Pass account is overdue and a payment needs to be made. Apparently people have been believing this and making payments that were really not needed. Obviously these payments are not going to the State of Florida.

The true Florida Sun Pass system will only send out past due notices via the U.S. Mail, and NOT via email.

I am posting this in an effort to prevent any TUG member (or anyone else for that matter) from being scammed.

Should you need further information, please Google "Sun Pass Scam".






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AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
Would be nice if Florida arranged for its toll roads to accept out-of-state toll transponders (e.g., E-Z Pass, etc.), so that vacationers could zip through the toll points using automatic toll-payment devices from back home.

It couldn't be all that complicated to make the change. Just a few computer settings on the toll system's main computer would add major serious convenience for Florida vacationers from other states.

( Just saying. )

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 

Sea Six

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How can a SunPass account be past due when they take an amount from a credit card on file to maintain a minimum balance?
 

TheTimeTraveler

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This is exactly why it is a scam! You're smart enough to avoid it. Others aren't and end up transferring funds to some off shore location and forever loose their hard earned money.



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Talent312

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[better one below]
 
Last edited:

Talent312

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Some Central Florida roads accept EZ Pass, according to the Transportation board on the DIS.

But not the Florida Turnpike and many extensions that you need to take to get there.
E-Pass Xtra ($18.50+tax) from the C.Fla. Expwy Auth. works on both SunPass + EZ Pass roads.
AFAIK, its the only one that does. See: https://www.cfxway.com/e-pass/about-e-pass/
 

boris-bear

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But not the Florida Turnpike and many extensions that you need to take to get there.
E-Pass Xtra ($18.50+tax) from the C.Fla. Expwy Auth. works on both SunPass + EZ Pass roads.
AFAIK, its the only one that does. See: https://www.cfxway.com/e-pass/about-e-pass/

North Carolina’s pass (called “QuickPass”) works in all EZPass states and in Georgia and Florida as well in “Sun Pass” zones as well as “E-Pass zones” (I.e all over the state) and has for several years.

I have one even though I live in Virginia because it is more versatile that way. Getting one is easy though the mail and everything related to the account is done online.

I don’t find myself on Georgia toll roads much but have used it numerous times in Florida in in both Orlando area and in the Tampa area. I think there may be a few local toll bridges in a few places in Florida that aren’t a part of the system but I have yet to encounter one.

I used it last week on 417 (the eastern Orlando beltway) and noticed that the middle tolls (“the CFX” ones)now showed that they accepted EZPass but the first and last tolls (which are not run by Central florida Expressway authority I guess) did not accept it, although my NC-issued quick pass worked fine as always. It’s a muddle as to why one agency in the state (or sadly even in one region)can figure it out but that is the nature of independent public authorities sometimes.

My NC pass working everywhere proves it’s not a technology issue—rather a governance one. Hopefully the rest of the agencies in Florida can figure out the governance details to allow true EZPass soon.
 

bbodb1

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Even better - eliminate toll roads!
 

Talent312

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T_R_Oglodyte

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Even better - eliminate toll roads!
I disagree entirely. We need more toll roads. Tolling is the best way to ensure that the people who benefit from the road pay for the road. Toll roads reduce the burden on the gas tax, allowing more money to go into maintenance and upgrade on local streets.
 

bbodb1

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I disagree entirely. We need more toll roads. Tolling is the best way to ensure that the people who benefit from the road pay for the road. Toll roads reduce the burden on the gas tax, allowing more money to go into maintenance and upgrade on local streets.

I totally disagree with your position for several reasons but let me start with the bolded point, T_R.
On a recent vacation, we traveled the corridor throughout the east coast including a stretch on I-95 starting near DC and going north, eventually into upstate New York. That little foray set us back something close to $25 in tolls one way if memory serves correctly.

There is NO way a passenger automobile takes out that kind of wear and tear on pavement - no way to justify the exorbitant tolls being charged on these roads. The various authorities that run toll roads have grown into another government bureaucracy - so large and inefficient that I would be curious to see how much of a toll dollar goes toward road maintenance and repair versus salaries for toll authority bureaucrats and toll gate workers.

And it is worth mentioning that tolls are another form of regressive taxation.
 

tombanjo

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many toll roads are privatized, meaning they are a government authorized monopoly granted to a for profit company. The public benefit is the least consideration in these schemes.

In any case, in Florida, they have toll by plate, so if you don't have sun pass, you drive through the toll booth or toll sensor and then need to go online to pay your tolls. So it is conceivable you would get an email indicating you had an outstanding toll to pay. They say they mail these, however, whenever my credit card is charged, I get a sun pass email. So to get an email from Sun Pass would not be bizarre.

Like most other scams, if you think something needs to be done with your account, go to your saved link rather than the link in any email to verify the information.
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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I totally disagree with your position for several reasons but let me start with the bolded point, T_R.
On a recent vacation, we traveled the corridor throughout the east coast including a stretch on I-95 starting near DC and going north, eventually into upstate New York. That little foray set us back something close to $25 in tolls one way if memory serves correctly.

There is NO way a passenger automobile takes out that kind of wear and tear on pavement - no way to justify the exorbitant tolls being charged on these roads. The various authorities that run toll roads have grown into another government bureaucracy - so large and inefficient that I would be curious to see how much of a toll dollar goes toward road maintenance and repair versus salaries for toll authority bureaucrats and toll gate workers.

And it is worth mentioning that tolls are another form of regressive taxation.
I would note that it's not just wear and tear, it's also the cost of infrastructure. Just like when you pay your utility bills - the cost of the water or electrons or gas that comes through the meter is only a small part of the bill.

And if regressive taxation is a reason not to charge tolls, then by equal measure we should not collect gasoline sales tax, since sales taxes are the most regressive tax mechanisms.

And that's as much as I'm going to say on the topic. I'm not going to reply any further this is not the place for debates on public policy. :) We can just agree to disagree.
 
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One fact uneducated toll road users fail to comprehend: tolls are DOUBLE-TAXATION. Taxes (usually fuel) build the road. Tolls may maintain the road, but the fact is, when tolls fall short, taxes balance the budget. There is no such thing as a profitable toll road, and taxes do pay for them, which means you're paying far more taxes when you fork over your $$$ for a toll road.

To pay less taxes, DO NOT drive on a toll road. In most cities, they're not required.

TS
 

SmithOp

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One fact uneducated toll road users fail to comprehend: tolls are DOUBLE-TAXATION. Taxes (usually fuel) build the road. Tolls may maintain the road, but the fact is, when tolls fall short, taxes balance the budget. There is no such thing as a profitable toll road, and taxes do pay for them, which means you're paying far more taxes when you fork over your $$$ for a toll road.

To pay less taxes, DO NOT drive on a toll road. In most cities, they're not required.

TS

Not all toll roads are funded by gas taxes.

https://thetollroads.com/about/background
The Investment
Construction of The Toll Roads was funded through the sale of bonds to both private individuals and institutional investors. The bonds can only be repaid by future tolls and development fees. Since the bonds are not backed by government, taxpayers are not responsible for repaying the debt nor do taxpayers carry the risk if future toll revenues fall short. Today, toll and development impact fee revenue go toward retiring the construction debt, funding additional improvements and covering costs of operating The Toll Roads.


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TheTimeTraveler

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But not the Florida Turnpike and many extensions that you need to take to get there.
E-Pass Xtra ($18.50+tax) from the C.Fla. Expwy Auth. works on both SunPass + EZ Pass roads.
AFAIK, its the only one that does. See: https://www.cfxway.com/e-pass/about-e-pass/



So I was in Orlando the other day, and just happened to be on a private toll road that accepted both Sun Pass and EZ Pass. My vehicle has both EZ Pass and Sun Pass on the windshield.

Now the question I have is did the toll system accept both versions and charge me double, or does the system detect dual transponders and default to just one (to eliminate duplicate billing by differing Passes)?

My guess is that something is built into the electronics to compensate for such a situation but then again it may not.

Do we have any Tuggers out there reading this that may have the correct answer?






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riverdees05

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For the person that just visit once or twice every few years is getting a SunPass worth it?
 

TheHolleys87

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For the person that just visit once or twice every few years is getting a SunPass worth it?

We like the freedom to take the toll roads without worrying whether we have the right cash, and since our credit card isn’t charged unless we actually incur tolls (DH and I think we keep only a $10 balance on it), we don’t feel we’re tying up a lot of money when we’re not there. OTOH we drive from Texas to Florida at least once a year, often twice.
 

PigsDad

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For the person that just visit once or twice every few years is getting a SunPass worth it?
We're from Colorado and are in Florida about once a year and we have found it useful. The main reason we got one is that we always have a rental car there, and the SunPass allows us to register the rental just for the time we are there, and then we don't have to pay the outrageous fees the rental cars add on if we have to go through a toll station (many of which are not manned, and there is no option but to use the license plate reader which then goes to the rental company and they tack on a huge fee).

Kurt
 

Talent312

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So I was in Orlando the other day, and just happened to be on a private toll road that accepted both SunPass and EZ Pass. My vehicle has both EZ Pass and SunPass on the windshield...

It might be worth a call or email to ask how its handled.
I'd hope that only the first pass to connect is charged, but IDK.

Rare Florida Travellers: Even 1-2 trips makes a pass worthwhile.
For very little $$, you get to speed thru countless toll plazas, and
lord it over all those hapless souls sitting in lines clutching coins.
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Armada

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+1 for the NC Quick Pass. It covers all toll roads east of the Mississippi except Alabama and a couple of small toll roads in SC.
 

Sea Six

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So I was in Orlando the other day, and just happened to be on a private toll road that accepted both Sun Pass and EZ Pass. My vehicle has both EZ Pass and Sun Pass on the windshield.

Now the question I have is did the toll system accept both versions and charge me double, or does the system detect dual transponders and default to just one (to eliminate duplicate billing by differing Passes)?

My guess is that something is built into the electronics to compensate for such a situation but then again it may not.

Do we have any Tuggers out there reading this that may have the correct answer?

.

Can't you just log into your accounts and look up recent transactions? Tell US what happens.
 

Sea Six

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For the person that just visit once or twice every few years is getting a SunPass worth it?
It is for me. Never a wait in the SunPass lane, just slow down and keep moving. There is an expressway in Ft Lauderdale that only takes SunPass, and has express lanes all the way from I75 to I95 - NO INTERCHANGES! That alone makes it worthwhile. PLUS the SunPass can be used for express airport parking at Ft Lauderdale. And I paid the $25 for the one that can be moved to multiple cars. I even have some of my friends cars on my account so I can pay the tolls when they drive.
 
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