Steps to Protect Yourself from Text Messages (SMS) Scam

The explosive growth of mobile communication across the world, especially during the last decade  has created a huge community of cell phone users who are susceptible to fraud. Large cyber crime networks bombard mobile users across the world, with fraud txt messages asking them to call back a given number or go to a spurious website.

Text Message (SMS) Scam – Report Suspicious Txt Messages before they can cause widespread damage

The explosive growth of mobile communication across the world, especially during the last decade  has created a huge community of cell phone users who are susceptible to fraud. Large cyber crime networks bombard mobile users across the world, with fraud txt messages asking them to call back a given number or go to a spurious website.

The cyber crime networks are primarily run by Nigerian and East European criminals who have recruited franchisees in all countries and  money mules to collect spoils of the scam, on their behalf.  The fraud txt messages make  the receiver to believe that he is lucky,  while others are not! He is unaware that the SMS message has been pumped into the handsets of thousands of people, concurrently.

The network waits for the gullible to revert and the expert thieves engage in continued brainwash of the hapless victim, till he or she is stripped of all savings.  Stories abound about people who thought they were being scammed after paying small amounts but were convinced by the scammers to play along further and ended up losing big money.

A large portion of txt messages is phishing attack where the potential victim is asked to go to a website (which could infect the users’ PC) and enter personal info, bank & credit card details. The criminals later mount attack on the user’s bank  and credit card accounts.

 Here are few of the typical fraud txt messages:

“Your mobile number has won $1.5 Million in Red Bull Anniversary Lotto”

“You have won $1000Walmart Gift card. Enter code 5566 at www.walmart-card.info”

“You have been selected for interview with Sears International!”

“You have won a free cruise! Visit  website to claim your free cruise!”

Steps to Protect Yourself from Text Message (SMS) Scam:

• Never reply to any unsolicited txt message
• Never rely on company names & contact details in an SMS. The genuine contact detail will be different you could end up calling a cyber thief if you rely on contact details in an unsolicited SMS
• Never click any link or visit a website suggested in an unsolicited txt
• Never call back the number in an unsolicited txt message
• Be aware that you can never be a winner of anything, unless you have entered in a competition or a program by yourself
• No company will employ someone, out of the blue
• Never participate in Online Surveys, conducted by unknown entities
• Always remember: scammers use names of well known companies, to trap victims.

The key to success against the txt message scammers lies in early reporting of the latest scam messages so that potential victims are alerted, in time. Report phone numbers of scam text messages at Scamcallfighters.com

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