The new smartphone scam that could cost you £23,000.
I know there have been a lot of scams going around lately so I thought I’d make you all aware of the latest one in the hopes that it encourages everyone to be more vigilant so there are fewer victims.
One man has been scammed out of £23,000 just from one text so I’ve outlined the dangers in order to prevent this from happening to anybody else.
Online and mobile banking definitely makes managing our money much easier! However, because more and more of us are choosing to bank this way, scammers and fraudsters are constantly finding new ways to target mobile users.
What is the latest scam?
The latest scam is an SMS con that is being referred to as ‘smishing’. Victims can have thousands of pounds taken from their accounts, and the worst bit is that the banks may refuse to give you your money back.
How does the scam work?
Smishing stands for SMS phishing and the scammers hack into your text threads that most Android and Apple phone users will receive regularly from their banks. By doing this they can easily get you to give them passwords and other banking details without even suspecting anything malicious. This makes it easy for the fraudsters to gain access to your banking accounts and ultimately any money that’s in them. If this does happpen to you then there’s a chance the bank will refuse to refund you any money taken so it really is best to stay as clued up as possible on any banking scams.
How you can protect yourself
A genuine email, phonecall, text message form your bank would not ask you to transfer any money from your bank account to a new one for ‘fraud reasons’. They would also NEVER ask you for any four-digit card PIN’s or passwords.
If you receive a suspicious email from your bank, do not click on any of their links and do not update any personal details this way.
Other ways you can stay protected
– Be sure to cut up all of your old debit or credit cards and cheque books. Cut through the magnetic strip and security number on the back. By doing this you will prevent anyone else from being able to use them in the unlikely event that you are burgled! Do the same with cheque books
– Be aware of phishing. Phishing is a trick in which spam or pop-ups pose as legitimate banks or businesses in a desperate bid to obtain your personal information. If they fool you into handing your information over, they will then use it to access your accounts. So again, always verify that you’re on a familiar website with security controls before you enter any bank details or personal data!!
CLICK HERE to find more ways of protecting yourself against fraud.
