7/1/2023 0 Comments Wired almost impossibleIn Hinton’s case, the scam started with a text message on 3 January, claiming to check whether she had authorized $7,500 being wired out of her account. Many scam texts pretend to be from a familiar company, like Amazon, UPS or a popular bank. This, in turn, allows the thieves to cash the cards and make off with the funds. The scammer then asks for photos of the back of the gift cards, saying they’re needed for reimbursement. Another common scam involves gleaning the name of a person’s boss from a directory or website, then impersonating that boss and asking for a favor that involves purchasing gift cards. Others pretend to be contacting the wrong person in the hopes of striking up a conversation, which may then lead to long exchanges that get the phone user to open their wallet. Some pretend to offer jobs, only to ensnare people into transferring money out of their bank accounts for job supplies. Scammers use an unending variety of creative approaches to try to trick people out of their money. The problem has become so bad that last month the federal government demanded that mobile phone companies start blocking spam texts, in what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) described as its first of several planned steps to combat the rampant phone fraud. And last year, more than 321,000 Americans reported having fallen for a phone-based smishing scam, with total losses of over $326m, according to data from the US Federal Trade Commission. In 2022 US phone users got 157bn robotexts, or more than 440 a person – an 80% increase from 2021, according to the company Robokiller, which offers a scam-blocking service for cell phones. While phishing texts have been around for years, data shows they are on the rise. Kelli Hinton lost $15,000 after a scamster posed as a Chase fraud investigator and emptied her account. For a lot more specific information about how to spot and report scam texts see the Federal Trade Commission’s tips here.If you get a call claiming to be from your bank, hang up and call the number on the back of their card to double check the situation.Hang up, tThen contact the business or requesting party directly, using an independently verified phone number or website. If you suspect you’re talking to a scammer, slow down and refuse to let them rush you.If they say they are someone you know, call them back instead at a number you look up independently. Assume unexpected contacts are scams, until proven otherwise. ![]() If any one contacts you that you are not expecting, don’t engage with them.Anyone who asks for permission to assume control of your phone or computer or reset account access information.Messages asking you to click a link to add info to a company website.Anyone asking for personal information including bank passwords, account or credit card numbers, social security or medicare card numbers.Someone asking you to transfer money, or claiming to be from your bank.Requests for gift cards or other hard-to-trace forms of payment including cryptocurrency, PaypPal and Venmo.Text message-based scams can appear to come from a familiar company or person, but experts say these red flags will help you spot them.
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