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True Story: A couple of weeks ago, I put in an order via text to renew a prescription from a mail order pharmacy. They usually use UPS to deliver the medication so when I got a text from UPS about a half hour later, I clicked on the link. The link looked very legit with the usual UPS logo, but said there was a delivery fee. I ignored it because that didn't seem quite right. When I didn't get my medication delivered within the usual time, I happened to get another notification from UPS, again notifying me that there was a delivery fee. This time, I called the pharmacy and inquired if there was a separate delivery fee from UPS. First, they explained why the delivery of the medication was being held up and second, they told me that their fee includes delivery so that text was definitely not legit. It was just random timing that the scammers sent those texts to me at those precise moments. But I am glad that I called the pharmacy to verify it was a scam because this wasn't so obvious, like the ones described in the other posts on this thread.
Good that you called them, Coney. It could have ended so much worse. And yes, the timing is everything. I had ordered something from Amazon once but it had already arrived. I got a text on my phone that said my order was delayed and I needed to contact them. I just blocked the number and reported it as spam. I don't think I would have clicked on the message even if I hadn't received the package because I don't receive texts from Amazon either. I have a trust issue. These thieves are getting more and more sophisticated. They've even made logos to match the real company.
The most common ones are from PayPal and Amazon stating the the account has been closed. There's the obvious "click here" and a number to call that connects you straight to India!
This topic will benefit everyone but I'm putting it here in the retirement section because we're at an age where losing money is harder to re-coup, if not impossible.
This story was featured on CBS Mornings. Ever received a text that asks, "Did you authorize a $XX charge on your account?" Then it asks you to click yes or no. That's when the trouble starts. 8.8 billion dollars was lost last year to fraud in 2022.
Watch this story and make a mental note so you won't be a victim of these thieves.
If you have a tip that's kept you safe and would like to share it, I know others (including myself) would like to know it. We worked too many years and saved for retirement to have it vanish right under our nose.
One basic principle is to have a separate email account to be used with your financial institutions only.
Don't share it with anyone and only use if for bank and brokerage transactions.
Also sign up for alerts from your bank and brokerage and check and routinely check account activity.
This topic will benefit everyone but I'm putting it here in the retirement section because we're at an age where losing money is harder to re-coup, if not impossible.
This story was featured on CBS Mornings. Ever received a text that asks, "Did you authorize a $XX charge on your account?" Then it asks you to click yes or no. That's when the trouble starts. 8.8 billion dollars was lost last year to fraud in 2022.
Watch this story and make a mental note so you won't be a victim of these thieves.
If you have a tip that's kept you safe and would like to share it, I know others (including myself) would like to know it. We worked too many years and saved for retirement to have it vanish right under our nose.
The bank text is hard because we do get those but we get them in multiple places. My husband's phone and my email. If I didn't authorize it I do click no but the next thing I do is call the number on the back of my card and get the card canceled and a new one sent. I also don't use my debit card for any purchases and have a dollar limit of $0 on my husband's card and $50 on mine. To say, however, that a financial institution will never ask for a pin sent to your phone isn't correct. I was moving money in a financial institution (not bank) over the phone (a call I made) and they sent me a pin to phone on record to verify it was really me even though I answered other questions.
Secondly, answering yes or no to that question does not prompt a call from the bank, instead it should prompt you to call them to find out if it was true and to cancel your card and have a new one issued. Unfortunately the elderly often get excited and upset and don't stop to think.
The next scam is AI. They find out a lot about you and about children or grandchildren and get a copy of their voice and then use it to scam you about them being in jail or otherwise. Don't fall for it. It is never ever true.
Lastly, setup your phone to not accept calls from anyone not in your contacts. Let them leave a voice message. Easier to verify if you aren't in the call.
I don't respond to texts from people/places I don't recognize or wasn't expecting. I looked at the originating "phone number" in a couple of cases, and they were from Gmail email addresses, not phone numbers. I was able to block those email addresses. I never responded, and I'm not sure I even opened the texts, since I could see in list of incoming "calls" who was sending me a text? I don't remember exactly. I was surprised there's a way to send texts from email addresses. Apparently this is something that Google enabled.
I don't do much business via phone, so that so far, it's easier for me to spot something unusual. Those options in my accounts that ask permission to contact me via text...I never allow that. It's always by email, and I'm watchful of scams there, too. I allow texts only for providers like electric company & internet provider to text me regarding outages.
I don't do banking and other business through my phone, but since everything is connected these days, I suppose someone could access that info thru the internet on my phone? It's scary.
I also try to check account balances periodically to make sure nothing looks suspicious. I have accounts set to notify me of changes in account balances, too, if they offer that service.
Be careful now of BIN scamming. Banking experts are now warning of a rise in so-called BIN attacks in which hackers use computer programs to essentially ‘guess’ the full card number, CVV code and other information linked to debt and credit cards. Criminals always seem to be one step ahead!
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These thieves are getting more and more sophisticated. They've even made logos to match the real company.
Your habits appear to be much like mine.