Never, never, never respond in any way to unsolicited text messages from any source that you do not know.
There are a number of potential or actual problems with this robotext that I received recently:
- I’m not Karen; she’s my wife.
- Clicking on the link could download malware onto your phone or take you to a “survey” site whose sole purpose is to harvest the account credtials from your phone and/or your private information through the questions they ask.
- Replying STOP will just confirm your phone number, possibly for future robotext messages.
- We’re not subscribed to anything that sends us robotexts like this, so we shouldn’t need to unsubscribe. They know that people find this annoying and just want it to go away. It’s a hook to fish you into taking action that will confirm your number.
Dos and Don’ts
- Don’t respond. If you do, you’re telling the sender you’re a receptive target. Even replying STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE will show the spammer the number is active and it will get leaked or sold to databases that other hackers have access to.
- Protect your information. Legitimate companies won’t send you texts unless you’ve subscribed for text messaging. Even then, personal information such as ID numbers (social security number, medicare number, driver’s license number, etc.) or passwords should never be shared via text or voice on your device.
- Don’t click on links. They can lead to spoof sites that look real but can steal information or data, run up your usage, or install malicious software on your device.
- Block the number. It help’s cut off one of the sender’s lines of communication.
- Report it to your provider. For most U.S. providers, messages sent to 7726 are shared with security providers to help prevent spam.
- Use a spam-blocking app—prevents annying robocalls and texts and adds another layer of data security.
- Review your phone bill if it is higher than expected. Some scams can force your phone to call or text premium numbers that charge a fee.
- Check out your device’s built-in spam-blocking features. Note: Some may inadvertently block or filter legitimate calls or texts.
- I had “Silence Unknown Caller” turned on. I missed an important call because of it and wondered why a voice message wasn’t left. It turned out my voice mailbox was full.
Scammers are con artists. The “confidence trick,” in this case is to send a text message that looks legitimate, exploiting the receiver’s credulity, compassion, and greed.
Scammers use a variety of ever-changing stories to rope in their “mark” (victim). This is just one of them.
Comments on this entry are closed.
Great information, and you’re right. Never click on them. Thankfully, I don’t get too many of these messages. Then again, I don’t use my phone too much, only for making calls and the occasional text; both are rare. I’d heard it’s tried to install apps installed/others who might have had their phones compromised. Who knows? I’m just happy that I don’t get too many, and if/when I do, there’s no way I’m clicking on them. Block and delete.
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