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Submitted by the Better Business Bureau
Consumers report to Better Business Bureau that they're receiving text messages that appear to come from … themselves.
We received this text at the office. (See photos below). In this case, the scammer was impersonating Verizon. Verizon is aware and is warning consumers of the scam.
BBB has the following tips to avoid becoming the victim of a texting scam:
√ Don’t trust unsolicited messages. Scammers will try to get you to click a link or call a number in a text message, claiming you’ve won a grand prize; your subscription account will be deactivated; or there was a problem delivering a package to your home. They may even claim fraudulent activity has been detected on your account and tell you to “Act now!”
√ Before you get too worked up and respond, ask yourself the following: “Did I give this company permission to text me? Did I enter a contest recently? Am I expecting a package? Is it normal for this business to send me messages?” If you receive an unsettling text message from a company you do business with but never texted you in the past, look up their contact information on their official website and get in touch to find out what the message is really about.
√ Watch out for suspicious links. Most scam text messages contain a link for you to click on. Scammers hope their message will cause you to feel so scared or excited that you’ll click the link without thinking. Some of these links could download malware onto your device. Others may lead you to lookalike websites where scammers hope to harvest your personal information, login ID and passwords.
√ Know that a personalized message doesn’t make the sender trustworthy. Thanks to data breaches and online directories, at least some of your personal information is online. Scammers may have access to your name, address, where you bank, your phone provider, and other details about your life. They may include some of this information in their text to appear more legitimate. When in doubt, contact the businesses directly to find out if they tried to contact you.
Report this and all scams to BBB's Scam Tracker: www.BBB.org/scamtracker.