For example, it may claim that your bank account has been closed or that you’ve won a free gift. The message creates a sense of urgency to get you to act quickly.Scammers use technology to make it look like they’re messaging you from a business or person you know (such as the IRS, Apple, or Amazon). You receive a text message from an unknown or “spoofed” number.How Do Text Message Scams Work?įraudsters implement numerous types of text message scams. In this guide, you will learn what else to do to keep your identity and money safe from scammers. If you’ve received a suspicious text, don’t respond, click on links, or call any numbers. Last year alone, scammers sent out 87.8 billion spam text messages and defrauded victims of over $10 billion. Text scams (also known as “ smishing”) are among the most common tactics scammers use to steal personal information. Unfortunately, Kizzy is just one of nearly 60 million Americans who have fallen victim to text message scams in the past year. Minutes later, both her personal and business accounts were empty. She called the number in the text and quickly “verified” her identity by providing her Social Security number (SSN) and debit card details. Kizzy Broaden thought she was doing the right thing when she responded to a fraud alert text from her bank.
