We’re all attached to our cell phones. We use them all day to make calls, check social media and text. Some of those text messages you may receive are bogus and could cost you more than just your piece of mind.
The Federal Trade Commission has some handy tips to spot these nasty scammers out to steal your personal and financial information.
Scammers often try to get you to click on links in text messages by promising you something. Scammers might:
- promise free prizes, gift cards, or coupons — but they’re not real
- offer you a low or no interest credit card — but there’s no deal and probably no card
- promise to help you pay off your student loans — but they won’t
Scammers also send fake messages that say they have information about your account or a transaction. Scammers might:
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity on your account — but they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your payment information — but there isn’t
- send you a fake invoice and tell you to contact them if you didn’t authorize the purchase — but it’s a scam
- send you a package delivery notification — but it’s fake
The messages might ask you to give some personal information — like how much money you make, how much you owe, or your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number — to claim your gift or pursue the offer. Or they might tell you to click on a link to learn more about the issue. Some links might take you to a spoofed website that looks real but isn’t. If you log in, the scammers then might steal your username and password.
Other messages might install harmful malware on your phone that steals your personal or financial information without you realizing it.
If you get a text message you weren’t expecting and it asks you to give some personal or financial information, don’t click on any links. Legitimate companies won’t ask for information about your account by text.
If you think the message might be real, contact the company using a phone number or website you know is real. Not the information in the text message.
There are several ways to block and report scammers. iPhone has a block and report junk feature when you get a text from an unknown sender.
If you do click on one of these links and get scammed, let your wireless carrier know. If you gave the scammer any credit card information, call your bank and make sure your account is frozen.