The Bossier Financial Crimes Task Force is warning people about text scams recently reported in Bossier Parish.
Text messages with bogus website links are being disguised as delivery notifications from companies such as Amazon and FedEx.
When clicked, some bogus links may automatically download software that allows others access to your phone’s information), including personal data and temporary phone number that could be used to steal from you.
Other text messages have links that may take you to a customer satisfaction survey that promises a free gift for completing the survey. The catch is that the site asks for a credit card number in order to receive the free item and then makes unauthorized charges on your credit card account.
Detectives advise people to never click on unfamiliar links.
Block the sender if you can.
If you are unsure of whether a message is fake, contact the online store directly through their home page, not through a suspicious link.
Phishing is a common practice in which criminals try to get your personal information by posing as a legitimate entity over the phone or by email.
Smishing is doing the same thing through short messaging service (SMS) or texts.
https://www.wect.com/2020/01/23/authorities-warn-text-scams-being-reported-bossier/