Text Message Phishing Attempts

Phishing attempts are not only from emails, they can come from phone calls and text.  When attackers use text, the attacker attempts to use a well know service and a high dollar amount in order to create a sense of urgency, by the attacked person, to take immediate action.  Many of these are easy to tell since they are not a service that the attacked person would use.  However, the service could be one the attacked used and that increases the anxiety for the attacked individual. 

The key to handle these is to stay calm and to never use the links or phone numbers in the text.  If it is a service that you use, either log onto the service’s real web site or call them using a number from their contacts.  If you are certain that the text is a phishing attempt, you can simply ignore it.  Below are two examples of text phishing attempts.

Text Message : Thanks for choosing: PayPal_Inc, (Transaction ID: #PLP396285) for $649.75 successfully confirmed.  To cancel or dispute - +18886418238

Text Message: <ServiceCreditUnion>: External Payout of $1560.00 is sending to
Card***74531, please click https://dirkswelt.com/service to View or cancel.