Scammers are working as hard as delivery drivers around the holidays trying to trick shoppers into giving them account information, even credit card numbers. And between now and Christmas, they may get in touch with you, disguised as someone from Amazon, Walmart, or UPS.
Here’s the scam. You get an email stating your package is delayed. Or they tried to deliver it. And you’re given a link to find out where the package is, or have it re-delivered. They look legit unless you look at the link. Scams have links that clearly won’t take you to FedEx, the post office, or UPS. Clicking a link in an email can install malware on your computer.
If you’ve got an iPhone that isn’t susceptible to those scams and wouldn’t download malware there’s still the problem of links in text messages.
The messages often lead you to click a link to claim a package that wasn’t delivered. The link takes the victim to a website that asks to confirm your identity by entering your address or account information. It might ask you to log in with your Amazon username and password. If you do, they’ve got it. And can order everything they want for Christmas on your credit card.
I’ve received several of these text messages, known as “smishing” texts in the past few months. One says it is from the Postal Service, and another is marked to have come from UPS but both text messages lead me to the same website.
Google and Apple eventually blocked the websites after they were reported and…
