With political season ramping up and with more legit companies sending info to your phone, you are probably getting more text messages from people you don’t know. You have to be careful. This past year, the AARP says $137 million was lost from fraud that started with scam texts. We will explain the newest ways these messages are being used so you know what to look out for.
Common fake text message topics
Of course, you probably know fake texts will probably have misspellings or just look off. But there are popular topics these thieves use to trick you into clicking on the link.
Wrong number message
The Better Business Bureau says there’s been a huge jump in “wrong number” texts where the person acts like they know you and then tries to get your personal information.
For example, “Hey is this John? It’s Amanda. We chatted on Tinder before when I came to visit my cousin but we never met IRL (in real life). I’m back in town if you want to meet up this time, are you free?”
When you respond that they have the wrong number, they try to engage you with a sexy photo, the BBB warns, then encourage you to register for dating or adult websites and eventually give up your credit card number.
Bank verification
Your actual bank may send you messages so this one might trip you up. The person may pressure people to “log in” to a bank website to verify a purchase.
Credit card warning
Some phony messages appear to be from your credit card company….
