Hello, fellow squirrels. Today, I will be talking about Text scams in a nutshell.
Text Scams, or in a different name, SMS phishing, are text messages that you get that claim they are coming from Amazon, your bank, or a person claiming to pay off your loans. There are many forms of this type of scam. Many of these have some similar traits that you can look for. One is that they will try to pretend to be from a trustworthy place, and they might try to spoof their number to look legitimate. The second thing is that they will make you think you need to act now, giving this a sense of urgency. If you think it is important, call the place with the number on their site and ask them about it; it is better than getting scammed. The scam will also have a malicious link or ask for sensitive information. Don’t click on the link unless you know the message came from a trusted source.
How does the scam work?
The first step the scammers take is finding a target. This happens in many ways, from data breaches to being chosen at random. The next thing these scammers will do is send a message that looks urgent, important, official, or something “too good” to be true. The scammer will try and make this message look and sound as legitimate as they can, some will try and make their numbers look like the real thing, so if you are unsure about the number, call the provider’s number on their web page. The message they will send will either ask for your personal information or will have a link that they want you to click. DO NOT click the link; these links will have malware that will track and steal your passwords and other information from your device. With the information that they get from you, if you fall for the trap, they will sell it on the dark web and drain your bank accounts.
How to keep yourself safe?
Number one: don’t respond and don’t click anything
Number two: Use MFA on everything
Number three: Have an antivirus installed on your phone
Number four: report the numbers that the scam is coming from
That’s all for today’s cyber-stuffed nutshell! Remember, staying alert is half the battle… and now you’ve got acorn-sized wisdom packed for future defense.
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