Text spam - is still killing it.

You might be thinking “How can people be so stupid to fall for that old scam”?  Well they can and do, but they aren’t stupid – the scammers are getting smarter at sucking people in.  According to Earthweb 

 Around 378,509,197 spam texts were sent/received per day in April 2022.

• An estimated 2,649,564,381 smishing messages were sent per week in April 2022.

• Less than 35% of people know when they’re becoming the target of smishing attacks.

The text message scam is one simplest and oldest yet it catches a huge number of people daily. It can cause a great deal of stress – especially to elderly or vulnerable people and make their lives miserable  Knowledge is power so give yourself a refresher and let your friends and family know by sharing this article. Vigilance is the key to staying safe.

Scammers do it because it’s very successful and lucrative. If you are getting spam texts, it's more than likely that whoever is sending you a spam text message is trying to get access to your personal information—bank accounts, passwords, social security number, online IDs, and more. Spam texts don't come from another phone.  Spams don’t come from people. It’s not someone sitting at a phone sending texts to random numbers. They come from computers running programs day and night – looking for victims.

Text message or SMS phishing—also called “smishing”—occurs when scam artists use deceptive text messages to lure consumers into providing their personal or financial information via a text message.  Even worse, before you open a message, the phone automatically processes incoming media files -- including pictures, audio, or video. That means a malware-laden file can start infecting the phone as soon as it's received. 

Spam can also do other things on your phone apart from getting you to respond to follow a link including,  

• delivering malware (such as key loggers and other tracking software) to capture your phone's keystrokes and  
• record what you type, such as search entries, login credentials, passwords, credit card details, and other sensitive information! 

In another spam version of the text message scam, the target receives a text message that sends a link to listen to a new voicemail. Open the link and your smartphone could be infected with malware that could allow scammers to access your accounts.  

How can you tell if you have been hacked? Here are some warning signs that your phone has been hacked: 

·         Strange or inappropriate pop-ups: One apparent sign of a hacked phone is nonstop pop-ups. ... 

·         Texts or calls not made by you. ... 

·         Higher than normal data usage. ... 

·         Apps you don't recognize on your phone. ... 

·         Battery draining quickly.

·         You get a ransomware message.

·         You get a fake antivirus message.

·         You have unwanted browser toolbars.

·         Your internet searches are redirected.

·         You see frequent, random popups.

·         Your friends receive social media invitations from you that you didn't send.

·         Your online password isn't working.

·         Spikes in data usage that you can't account for

·         Calls in your phone bill that you didn't make,

·          Your phone is sending your contacts spam messages linking to malware,

If you receive a text from someone you don't know, simply don't open the message or reply.  Delete it. It's the safest option. If you engage with a scammer, even briefly, they will mark your number as active and you could receive even more shady texts in the future. Block numbers that appear to come from scammers. You can also report the spam to your phone company they have tools available to block the messages permanently.

 Have you received spam texts? How did you deal with it? Share your experience it may help someone else.

 About TheFinTechGuys

Gian is a Finance Technology (FinTech) Consultant based in London.  He specialises in educating clients on how they can reduce their exposure to financial crime and in-depth insight into FinTech.  Gian has been in the FinTech industry for some 25 years and worked with the major banks and card companies at Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and RBS, Mastercard, and Visa in a long and successful career.

Gian is a regular blogger on payments & fraud trends: https://thefintechguys.blogspot.com .  He is also a trusted advisor to a number of consulting networks: GLG, Atheneum, and Guidepoint where he regularly advises banks and researchers.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianmahil/