The text will then offer to refund you, if you provide your direct deposit information. Basically, you’ll receive a message saying that you’ve been overcharged for a service-many text scams use the guise of a phone service provider. Text refundĪnother common text scam comes in the form of a text refund. If a family member truly is in trouble, contact the proper authorities instead of sending money. Additionally, if the text mentions someone by name, try reaching out to that person directly before responding to the original text. If you’re unsure of the validity of a text, reach out to family members to ask whether they’ve received the same message. It’s likely you’re receiving an SMS scam. When money is involved, err on the side of caution and proceed with skepticism. Family crisis text scams use this psychology to trick recipients into thinking a family member is in danger-and that they need to send money to correct the situation. If you were to receive a text from a random number asking for help, you might be inclined to send money to an unverified destination in case it would help a loved one. Receiving news of a family crisis is alarming. In fact, this is probably a text you just don’t want to reply to. Receiving a spam text from a long number doesn’t happen often, but if it does, be extra cautious before choosing to respond. If you get a text from a number that is 11 digits long, you can probably assume you’re getting a text scam. Note that in 2021, partially as a response to scammers, text carriers are disabling shared short codes- which means more businesses will be texting from toll-free or local numbers. Marketing messages are either sent from a six digit short code or a 10-digit commercial long code. If a text message is legitimate, it’s usually from a number 10 digits or less. If you’re trying to weed out spam and text scams from your message inbox, these are the common warning signs that can tip you off. Smishing, phishing that occurs over SMS, is often easy to spot when you know what you’re looking for. Here are some tips on how to identify a scam text to protect you, your friends, and your family. Over the years we’ve learned a thing or two about how to spot a scammer. Our mass texting service powers the SMS campaigns for thousands of good actors across North America. The Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker program added 47,567 separate text scams to its scam tracking program in 2019. SMS scams generally have the same goal: stealing your money by getting your personal information and they’re always evolving. Just ask anyone who has fallen for the Walmart text scam, which has been popular throughout 2020. Spam texts and text scams can be an unwelcome privacy intrusion and, if you fall for them, they could potentially create havoc in your life. With any new form of communication comes the potential for scammers.
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