Will ETC be subject to fraudulent charges?
3 Answers
Applying for ETC will not result in fraudulent charges, as the vast majority of ETC systems are very secure. To prevent ETC from being fraudulently charged, car owners are advised to: 1. Set a fixed limit for the ETC at the bank, and avoid setting it too high; 2. Remove the ETC card when leaving the vehicle; 3. ETC is an IC card that can only be settled in ETC scenarios, so try not to bind other bank cards when applying. The ETC system uses automatic vehicle identification technology to complete wireless data communication between the vehicle and the toll station, enabling automatic vehicle sensing and identification and the exchange of relevant toll data. It uses a computer network to process toll data, achieving a fully automatic electronic toll collection system without the need for stopping or setting up toll booths.
I've been driving for over a decade and using ETC for five years, never experienced any fraudulent charges. There are two types of ETC cards: the stored-value card is like an electronic wallet, only usable for toll payments; the debit card, although linked to a bank account, has small-amount contactless payments disabled by default. The ETC card stays inside the small box installed in your car, inaccessible to outsiders unless they break your car window. A banker friend told me the current ETC system has special protections—ordinary POS machines can't scan it. Of course, if you keep removing your ETC card and carrying it around, you might become a target. So my advice is to install the card and leave it untouched—it's perfectly safe.
From a security mechanism perspective, the probability of ETC cards being stolen and swiped is very low. By default, bank-linked cards have the flash payment function disabled, only allowing deductions by dedicated ETC devices, which ordinary POS machines cannot recognize at all. Some users worry about risks with early-issued cards, but those issued after 2019 have undergone technical upgrades, with dedicated encrypted communication protocols at highway toll stations. For those still concerned, they can directly disable the password-free payment function of their bank cards via banking apps to completely eliminate risks. Currently, there are over 100 million ETC users nationwide, yet publicly reported cases of fraudulent swiping are extremely rare, indicating the overall security system is quite reliable.
