NewsLocal News

Actions

Scam text messages can cost you big time

Posted at 10:47 AM, Jan 23, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-23 10:47:11-05

LANSING, Mich. — Robocalls, spam emails, Arabian princes that need money to escape the country, a "problem" with your car insurance that needs to be fixed immediately -- when it comes to scams we've seen it all.

But scammers are still finding a way to get creative.

Recently, scam text messages designed to look like shipping delivery confirmations from companies like Amazon Prime or FedEx have been popping up on people's phones.

The texts contain a link. Instead of clicking that link and going down a scammer's rabbit hole, How-To Geek did that for you. How-To Geek said that the most important thing to do if you receive one of these scams is to block the sender immediately.

According to How-To Geek, the link will take you to a fake Amazon listing -- tip, look at the URL, if it's not familiar immediately stop.

From there the scam asks people to fill out a survey to collect a reward. To collect the reward people are required to put in their credit card information and address for shipping and the shipping fee.

This is where the true scam comes in.

How-To Geek said that upon looking deeper into the fine print, they noticed that by agreeing to pay the shipping fee you are entering a contract that will charge $98.95 every month and sent a new supply of whatever item you claimed as a reward, the example, in this case, is vitamins from a scammy company.

Stick with websites and apps that you trust and can verify package delivers on, rather than a text alert. Block scam numbers immediately.

Want to see more local news ? Visit the FOX47News Website.

Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.

Download our free app for Appleand Android

and

Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.

Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook