Rental Car Scams and Hidden Fees the FTC Has Actually Documented

By Travelog Editorial Team ยท Updated August 9, 2026

The FTC has documented rental-car scams involving fake company websites and sponsored search ads demanding prepayment via gift card or prepaid debit card -- money that, unlike a credit card charge, can't be disputed once sent. Separately, toll-payment technology fees are a documented, legitimate-company problem: one verified case charged a renter $50 for $4 worth of actual tolls, and daily 'convenience fees' for using a rental's toll transponder even once commonly run $3.95 to nearly $16 per day.

Two genuinely different problems get lumped together under "rental car costs more than expected" -- outright criminal scams the FTC has directly documented and warned about, and legal-but-punishing fee structures from legitimate rental companies. Both are worth knowing precisely, since the countermeasures differ.

The Documented Scam Pattern

Describing this exactly as the FTC itself has documented it matters. Scammers set up fake rental-car company websites, complete with fabricated customer-service phone numbers, specifically designed to convince travelers they're dealing with a legitimate company. The consistent tell across documented cases: the scam asks for prepayment via gift card or prepaid debit card -- a deliberate choice, since gift-card and prepaid-debit funds function like cash once handed over, with no dispute process available, unlike a credit card charge.

Why an Unusually Good Price Is a Warning Sign

Stating this directly matters, since it's the FTC's own documented pattern-recognition advice. A suspiciously available, cheap rental appearing during a period of general rental-car scarcity or high demand is a documented signal worth treating with skepticism -- scammers specifically exploit exactly this kind of market pressure, when travelers are more likely to jump at an unusually good deal without additional scrutiny.

The Practical FTC Countermeasures

Listing these precisely matters, since these are the actual, documented recommendations, not generic caution. Search the specific rental company's name alongside terms like "scam," "complaint," or "review" before booking, to surface any documented history of prior problems. Find customer-support contact information directly from the company's own official website, not from a general search engine result -- scammers can pay for sponsored search placement, letting a fake listing appear above or alongside genuine results. And pay with a credit card whenever possible, never a gift card or prepaid debit card, since a credit card charge can genuinely be disputed if something goes wrong, unlike the alternatives.

A Separate Problem: Legitimate Companies' Toll Fees

Treating this as a genuinely distinct issue from the criminal scams above matters, since it involves licensed rental companies operating within their own disclosed (if easy-to-miss) terms. Most rental vehicles come equipped with an E-ZPass or similar toll transponder, and a documented trap exists: automatic enrollment in the rental company's toll-payment program typically triggers the instant a renter drives through an electronic toll gantry even once, activating ongoing fees for the rest of the rental period.

A Verified, Striking Example

Including this as a specific, checkable case beats a vague warning. One documented, verified case found a renter's credit card charged $50 for just $4 worth of actual tolls incurred -- a twelvefold markup on the genuine toll cost. More broadly, a comparative analysis found rental-company toll processing can add a 77% premium compared to what an individual E-ZPass user would pay for the identical tolls.

The Specific Daily Fee Structure

Stating this with checkable numbers beats a general "fees apply" caution. Daily administrative or "convenience" fees for rental-toll processing commonly range from $3.95 to nearly $16.00 per day, layered on top of the actual toll cost itself -- and critically, this daily fee is typically triggered by using a toll lane even once during the rental, not prorated to actual toll usage. One specific documented example: a major rental company's own e-toll program charges a $6.95 convenience fee for each day a toll is incurred, capped at a $34.75 maximum per rental month -- meaning a single toll on day one of a month-long rental can trigger nearly $35 in fees over the following weeks.

Practical Ways to Avoid the Toll Fee Trap Specifically

Including genuinely actionable countermeasures matters, distinct from simply knowing the fees exist. Some toll authorities allow a renter to bring and use their own personal E-ZPass or equivalent transponder in a rental vehicle instead of relying on the car's built-in device -- worth checking directly with the specific state turnpike or toll authority before a trip, since this option, where available, avoids the rental company's own markup and daily fee structure entirely by billing tolls directly to the renter's own account instead. Where that's not an option, some rental companies offer a flat-rate prepaid toll package as an alternative to per-incident daily fees -- worth comparing that flat rate against a realistic estimate of actual toll usage for the specific trip, since the better option depends genuinely on how many toll roads the trip actually involves.

What This Means for Renting a Car

The practical takeaway is treating these as two genuinely separate risks requiring different countermeasures: verify a rental company's legitimacy directly through its own official website and a complaint-history search before ever paying anything, and never pay via gift card. Separately, for the toll-fee problem -- a legitimate-company issue, not a scam -- actively avoiding toll roads where a reasonable alternate route exists, or proactively asking the rental company about its specific toll-fee structure before driving through any toll gantry, is the practical way to avoid a documented, disproportionate charge like the $50-for-$4-tolls example above.