Halton Trading Standards is warning people about text/SMS scams where the scammers are posing as family members to steal information.
As teenagers venture away from home this summer for holidays, festivals and school trips, the prospect of text message scams increases.
The scam involves a text message purporting to be from the recipient’s son or daughter claiming that the sender has a new number, or has broken or lost their phone.
The messages – and numerous others like them – are merely the first stage in a phishing scam, designed to dupe recipients into engaging with the new number and ultimately parting with personal data that can be used for nefarious means including identity theft and money transfer fraud.
The use of text/SMS messages – as opposed to, for example, an app like WhatsApp – lends the scam an extra level of credibility, since it is more likely that such apps would not yet be installed on a new or back-up phone.
The Chartered Institute of Trading Standards recommends people who receive such a message to:
- Phone the supposed sender on their original number to check whether the message is genuine
- If they are unreachable, verify the identity of the sender by asking them a question such as ‘what colour is dad’s car?’, or ‘what colour is the front door?’
- Go online to look up whether the new number has been reported elsewhere as a scam
- Never pass on personal details or make any payment via your phone unless you are 100% sure the person you are speaking with is who they say they are
- Be wary of suspicious wording, unusual spellings or phrases that seem out of character – while superficially convincing, many scammers make obvious errors, Particularly if English is not their first language
- Always take time before replying to any message to stop, take a breath, and consider whether it is genuine.
If you need advice on anything else please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline or 0808 223 1133.
