Scams, identity theft and cybercrimes threaten everyone.
Every year people lose billions of dollars to scams, identity theft and cybercrime. No one is immune to these dangers. Young and old alike are victims and if you think you are too smart to become a victim, you are wrong. According to the National Association of Securities Dealers wealthy, financially literate and astute people are actually more likely to become victims of financial scams.
The key to protecting yourself from scams cybercrime and identity theft is education and that is where Scamicide.com comes in. Here at Scamicide.com you will learn how to recognize scams, cyber security threats and risks of identity theft as well as how to avoid them. Here at Scamicide.com we also alert you each and every day to the latest developments in scams, cyber security and identity theft and tell you what you need to do to protect yourself. It is a dangerous world out there, but Scamicide.com can help you make it safer.
Scam of the day – September 29, 2023 – FBI Warns About Wrong Number Text Scam
The FBI recently issued a warning about the wrong number text message scam. The scam starts when you receive a text message that was obviously intended for someone else. Wanting to be a responsible person, many people respond to the text message telling the sender that it had been sent to the wrong number. At this point, the scammer sending the original text message says that he is always looking for more friends and attempts to start a conversation.
According to the FBI’s press release, “The scammers behind the wrong number text messages are counting on you to continue the conversation. They want to exploit your friendliness. Once they’ve made a connection, they’ll work to become friends or even cultivate a remote romantic relationship. It’s all a ruse, designed to get you to relax your mistrust so you’ll be more susceptible to falling for their scam, such as a cryptocurrency investment or many others targeting victims.”
Often these phony text messages aren’t even coming from a real person, but are automated responses sent by a bot programmed to give specific responses. The scams involved with these calls are many, but they all start with establishing a relationship with the targeted victim such that the victim begins to trust the scammer. At this point, the scammer may ask for personal information that can be used to make you a victim of identity theft. In other instances, they will lure you into clicking on a malware infected link under some pretense. In yet another version of the scam, they will use the text message to advance a romance scam and either eventually ask for money or for you to send compromising photos that would be used for blackmail purposes. Finally, these phony text messages have also been used to lure people into cryptocurrency scams. The bottom line is that when you get a text message that appears to be intended for someone else, it often is a scam.
TIPS
This is an easy scam to avoid. The best thing to do is to merely not respond at all to the text message. The risk of getting involved in a scam is too great. You also should block the number from your phone. If your mobile service provider is AT&T, Verizon Wireless or T-Mobile you should forward the message to SPAM (7726) and report it as spam.
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