Scam calls and text messages are becoming increasingly common, especially with scammers developing novel ways to make users fall prey to such activities and confuse unsolicited messages with legitimate ones. An urgency is created to take action immediately and follow the given instructions, often with people giving away salient personal or financial information. Now, the U.S. government seems to be issuing a warning regarding a certain widespread scam that could potentially impact both iOS and Android users. It urges users to delete such messages immediately and not cater to the demands.
FTC and FBI are actively letting users know about an ongoing scam that is targeting mobile users across the United States
An ongoing scam affecting iOS and Android users in the United States has both the FBI and the FTC on alert. They are actively issuing warnings to mobile users about the current phishing attack. The attack begins with a message that comes completely out of the blue and claims that you have an unpaid toll and that failure to respond immediately to the message could have detrimental consequences.
The unsolicited message would then ask you to enter banking details as well as personal information and click on a given link to continue with the payment. Since the URL would appear like an actual toll agency's link, many users can fall victim to such requests by first engaging with the message, clicking on the link, and then giving away personal data. The sensitive information provided could then be used for financial theft or even identity fraud.
The FTC has alerted consumers about the possible scam of unpaid tolls and provided a step-by-step guide to avoid falling for this phishing trap and staying safe. Users are advised first not to click on any links and simply ignore texts that are unexpected. It is highly recommended that the users then check if the text or request is legitimate by trying to reach the tolling agency through either their website or a phone number. Users are further asked to report unwanted text messages through the 'report junk' option available on phones or forward it to 7726 (SPAM). Users are finally requested to delete the text to ensure the phone is clean of any spam messages.
Even though the U.S. government agencies are actively working on warning users and preventing anyone from falling for the trick, it seems like this scam also mimics the pattern of any classic phishing attack, and that is to lure users into taking immediate action by appearing official and creating urgency. Users should stay vigilant and follow the given instructions. As a rule of thumb, they should always be vigilant and verify the authenticity of the requests.
