Don’t click that link! Beware of text message scams

How many times have you gotten these text messages (or similar messages) on your phone?

1. “Your Wells Fargo account has been locked due to suspicious activity. Please call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX to verify your identity.”
2. “You missed our delivery. To reschedule delivery of your parcel please visit: https://scammer-ups.scam.”
3. “Congratulations! You’ve won a free gift card to Walmart. Click here to claim your reward: https://notarealprize.not.”
4. “We noticed an outstanding toll of $XX. To avoid a late fee, go to https://scam to settle your account.”
5. “FRM:Wells-Fargo . Contact XXXXXXXXXX NOW to unblock your card.”

Obviously, these messages aren’t actually from Wells Fargo or Walmart. They’re scams. Scammers use these text messages to trick folks into sharing personal data. Text message scams are now one of the top ways fraudsters steal personal information. In 2023, scammers sent 87.8 billion text messages and obtained over $10 billion from victims. Scammers often pretend to be a business, the IRS, delivery services, Apple, or even a family member.

How do these text message scams work?

Scammers send texts that look like they’re from a legitimate number or business that create a sense of urgency for you to click a link or call a number. The goal is to get you to act without thinking or checking the legitimacy of the message or sender.

How do you protect yourself when you get one of these messages?

1. Don’t click the link! You could get sent to a legitimate looking site that is designed to steal your personal information or it could download malware onto your phone.
2. Look at the message. Does it say it’s from a business but have lots of typos? Does it say it’s extremely urgent? If it’s a phone number, is it the wrong number of digits? Is it coming from a strange number? Does the message have a suspicious link? Does it just look wrong? If so, it could be a scam. Reach out to the purported sender via a trusted communication channel to see whether the message is legitimate. Does the sender say the message is from your bank? Reach out to your bank through a confirmed contact number.
3. Notify the company the message appears to be from. Letting them know gives the business a chance to investigate and alert other customers of the scam. If the scam message claims to be from a bank, notify the bank about the message so they can investigate.
4. Report it. You can report scams to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You can also report it to your mobile carrier and forward the message to 7726 (SPAM).
5. Change your passwords: Being targeted by a text scam could mean your data has been compromised. Change passwords on all your retail, email, banking, and other accounts.

I clicked! Now what do I do?

Here are some steps to take if you think your data may have been compromised:

1. As soon as you realize the scammers may have your information, download your credit reports and check for:
   1. New accounts or loans you didn’t request.
   2. Credit inquiries you didn’t initiate.
   3. Other suspicious activity.
2. Put a fraud alert on your accounts with all three credit monitoring agencies. Here is a link to help walk you through the process. When you request a freeze, you’ll need to provide personal information such as your name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number.
3. If you see accounts on your credit report you didn’t request, contact the companies shown on the report. Notify them of the fraud, send an email to confirm the account wasn’t opened by you, and have them freeze these accounts.
4. Change all your passwords. If you can, set up multifactor authentication (MFA) on all your online accounts.
5. Report it to the FTC.
6. Scan for viruses and malware on your device.
7. Pull together and save all documents relating to the fraud and your losses. This includes people and companies you spoke to when you discovered the fraud to recover potential losses.
8. Stop communication with the scammer.
9. If appropriate, file a police report.

Want more information?

Click here to find out more from the FTC about recognizing and reporting spam text messages.

Click here to read about how to protect your personal information and data.

Written by Anna Eherenman, TDS-U student.