Receiving a fraudulent text message has become the norm across the US.
America has reported messages with a job offer or even a simple “How are you” from unknown numbers.
Now experts have identified three specific words that are telltale signs of a scam to help people fall victim to these devious tactics.
A cybercriminal will simply use “Would you kindly” in these texts, hoping to trick victims into clicking a malicious link or submitting their personal information.
Scammers target people by sending fraudulent text messages that look legitimate to obtain banking information or social security numbers
Personalized messaging scams are on the rise: Americans have received approximately 19.2 billion fraudulent text messages since March of this year.
Text message scams can range from someone saying hello to a job posting or a supposed notification from the IRS designed to trick you into thinking it’s legitimate.
Luckily, there are ways to know if you’re being scammed, including the three-word phrase: “Would you be so kind.”
You might see this in a job posting from a supposed recruiter asking you to “kindly” let them know if you’re interested in a position, but the problem is that this phrase isn’t commonly used in the US.
Tim Bajarin, a 40-year veteran technology analyst, told us Readers Digest: ‘You will often hear it used in countries with British influence, perhaps once a colonial country, where English is not their native language [such as Nigeria, India and Pakistan].’
A message may also ask the recipient to ‘kindly’ submit information, such as a social security number, bank or credit card details, or a payment.
While “friendly” isn’t grammatically wrong, the fact that it isn’t used in the U.S. means it should be flagged the same way you would look at a text sent with spelling or grammatical errors, Bajarin warned.
A sure sign that a text is a scam is if someone uses “friendly” in the message. The phrase is not widely used in the US and more likely comes from abroad
Scammers know that people are catching on to their tactics and have started switching gears by sending friendlier texts that look like they’re from someone you might know.
The text could say: ‘Hi, how are you?’ or “I’m going to be late for the meeting” to gain your trust and get you to respond.
Opening a text message from someone you seem to know may seem harmless, but experts warn against responding.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), cybercriminals will often take this opportunity to start a conversation that would lead to a scam, by apologizing and trying to keep the conversation going.
Once they have gained your trust, they will try to give you advice on investing in cryptocurrency or claim that they can teach you the secrets to making a lot of money in the crypto markets. For a fee, of course. But it’s all a scam and they’re just stealing your money,” the FTC said in a statement consumer alert.
Even if you don’t participate in the subsequent call, the response tells the scammers that they have reached a working device and could lead to more fraudulent calls and texts in the future.
Instead, you can simply report the unsolicited text as junk or spam and delete it from your phone.
Scammers will pretend to know you or try to get you involved in what seems like an ‘incredible’ offer to gain your trust
A final red flag is any text messages that come from someone claiming to work at a bank or the IRS.
“If it’s an ‘impostor’ message, like someone claiming to be from something like Bank of America or the IRS, never click on the link or attachment,” said Doug Shadel, a former fraud investigator and special assistant to the attorney general of Washington state. the office told Reader’s Digest.
‘If you’re not sure that’s the case [legit]you will need to log into that account independently using your own login and password – not what you received – to see if the institution was really trying to contact you.”
In 2023, Americans lost a total of $10 billion to scammers due to fraudulent text messages, phone calls, emails and through social media. report by the FTC.