Receiving a random text message with a link may stoke your curiosity, but if you click on it, it just might be dangerous to your wallet.
According to one report, 87 billion spam texts were sent last year in the United States. Money expert Clark Howard says scammers are increasingly using texts as a way to commit crimes.
“They’re trying to get to your personal information. And it depends on how trusting you are, how many of their questions you answer, until you’ve given up information that can be used against you or to steal money from you.”
Received a Random Text Message? Read This
Although they’ve been scarce as of late, I still receive scam text messages every now and then. Just two weeks ago, I got the following text message out of the blue.
How do I know it was a scam? Because I looked up the phone number of the sender. The same phone number had been reported as a scammer. Also, the number is not associated with the Georgia Department of Driver Services, which warns of text scams on its website. So I blocked the number.
This text message is a classic example of “smishing,” which is a common scam in which the crook uses the name of a reputable entity in hopes that you’ll click the link.
But when you get a random text message that seems suspicious, how can you know for sure? What should you look out for?
This article will give you details on a few common kinds of scam texts along with advice from Clark and consumer advocacy agencies on how you can…
