DFW woman bilked of $3,000 by text message. How she fell for the phishing scam?
Dallas-Fort Worth resident Shanna Coulter received a text message asking her if she attempted a Zelle payment for $2,000 on June 18, according to a KTVT report. No, she texted back, after which she was sent a security code.
Coulter quickly received a call, seemingly from her credit union, asking for the code to stop the transaction. She panicked, and before she knew it, Coulter had lost $3,000 to the scammer through Zelle, the report said.
Texans lose about $135,186 every year through phishing scams like these, according to the Better Business Bureau. And text messages are increasingly becoming the way that scammers reach people, BBB North Central Texas says. Nine percent of scams use texting as the means of contact.
“With respect to the text message scam, they are on the rise, and these text messages are nothing more than a phishing scheme that the crooks love to use,” said BBB North Central Texas spokesperson Monica Horton. “Just like the phishing emails that we’re a little more familiar with, as businesses start to communicate with their customers via text message more frequently, we are beginning to see the phishing text messages.”
Scammers may pose as a financial institution as in Coulter’s situation, or they may pose as a company you often do business with. The number one impersonated organization right now is Amazon, according to the BBB. Scammers also love money transfer apps like Zelle, because of how easy they are to access, Horton said.
“Basically, what they’re trying to do is impersonate a company that you have an established business relationship with, or a company that you trust,” Horton said. “They are trying to get you to respond to them by clicking on a link, calling a number, whatever the tactic is that day.”
A lot of times these messages are going to create a sense of urgency, whether it be fear of being in financial trouble, or excitement about winning a prize, which catches you off-guard and clouds your judgment, Horton explained. It may also look authentic because of how personalized the message is to you.
How to avoid text message scams
Here are some tips from BBB North Central Texas to protect yourself from these scams.
Be careful with peer-to-peer payment systems
Thirty-two percent of successful scams use online payment systems like Zelle, Paypal and Venmo, according to the BBB.
“It’s important for consumers to understand that the scammers have adopted this technology primarily because the protections are not in place like they are with the traditional bank accounts, credit cards,” Horton said.
Because these services are usually linked directly to your bank account, you want them to be protected. In Coulter’s case, the two-factor authentication that was set up as a protection was breached. While you should use two-factor authentication, make sure you don’t share any security codes that will give scammers access to the app. Also, it’s best to link the app to your credit card rather than your bank account.
Because the transactions are untraceable, make sure you personally know exactly who you’re transferring the money to. Unlike the more traditional banking systems, many of the apps don’t shoulder the cost of fraud, which means you may not be reimbursed.
Do not respond to unsolicited text messages
If you’re worried about a text you received from a company, find their contact information and call them directly to verify it instead of responding to the message or clicking on a link sent. Don’t opt out of future texts by sending “STOP” or “NO,” either, as that can tell the scammer that you have an active phone number and opens you up to future attacks.
If you’ve been targeted by a scammer, report it to the BBB Scam Tracker.
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 3:46 PM.
