Officials have rejected claims suggesting that toll collection authorities are monitoring specific dollar bills.
According to Travis Harwood, some toll systems let law enforcement catch drivers with illegal cash, a statement he made on the August 10 episode of “The Wild Chaos Podcast.” Nonetheless, various authorities overseeing the E-ZPass system—primarily used for tolls along the East Coast—have denied this assertion.
Harwood mentioned that there’s a “blue bandleader” on the tollbooth, which he claims signifies having a large amount of cash, specifically $100,000, during his conversation with host Bum Marshall.
This discussion revolved around Harwood’s experiences with organized crime, ultimately leading to his faith and departure from that lifestyle.
He elaborated, saying, “We often bypass the toll plaza because people trying to go through with cash get stopped. They often ask, ‘Where are those 1,500 $100 bills you just passed?'”
Harwood recounted a story about a drug dealer he knew who faced trouble after crossing a tollbooth on a trip from New Hampshire to Maine. However, officials from the Maine Turnpike stated that the Maine State Police have “no experience” with such activities.
Further confirmations from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission indicated that E-ZPass toll devices cannot detect cash in vehicles.
While the U.S. Treasury Department, Department of Justice, U.S. Mint, and several state transportation authorities were contacted, they had not provided any comments to date.
This isn’t the first occasion where government representatives have dismissed similar accusations.
In a Facebook post from September 2021, someone advised scammers against withdrawing $100 bills from banks, claiming authorities possess devices to detect how much money is in a car.
The post also suggested that the blue strips on $100 bills are tied to tracking devices that could lead to being pulled over if one has more than $10,000 on hand. However, a spokesperson from the U.S. Treasury later clarified that these blue bands, which are used to identify counterfeit bills, aren’t connected to any GPS or tracking systems.
