IIf you’ve received a peculiar text with an unfamiliar URL that claims to be about a United States Postal Service (USPS) delivery but haven’t signed up for a tracking request, be careful: It could be a scam, the postal service has warned.
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) said in a Press release last week, that the USPS posted in X Tuesday that this type of text is a scam called smishing — a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number. These scammers often attempt to pose as a government agency, bank, or other company and attempt to trick the recipient into sharing their personal or financial information, such as account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, date of birth, and credit and debit . card numbers, according to the press release. Scammers can then use this information to commit other crimes, such as financial fraud.
“The Post Office offers free tools to track specific packages, but customers are required to register online or send a text message and provide a tracking number. USPS does not charge for these services!” USPIS said in the press release. “USPS will not send text messages or emails to customers without the customer first requesting service with a tracking number, and will NOT contain a link. So if you have not initiated a tracking request for a specific package directly from USPS and it contains a link: do not click the link!”
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The USPS advised the public to report any smishing incident by copying the body of the text message and pasting it into an email to spam@uspis.gov – without clicking on any links – as well as providing your name and a screenshot of text showing the sender’s phone number and the date it was sent. If you were affected by the scam – for example, if you clicked the link, lost money, provided any personal information, or if your credit was affected – you should share these details in the email. You can also forward the messages to 7726, which will help you report the fraudulent phone number.
USPIS also offered some tips for protecting yourself against smishing, including:
- Think – confirm the sender’s identity and think about why they are asking for your information
- Do not respond – do not click on any links as this may install malware, take you to fake websites that look real and steal your personal information
- Report – contact the bank, government agency, or company the scammer is pretending to be so they can work with authorities to investigate the incident
- Delete text messages – real companies will not ask you to provide your personal information
- Block spam messages – you can call your carrier’s customer service number and ask them to “Block all text messages sent to you as email” or “Block all multimedia messages sent to you as email ”
- Treat your personal information like money: Scammers can use your personal information to steal your money or open new accounts in your name
- Review your cell phone bill – report any unauthorized charges to your carrier
- Security updates – keep your security software and apps up to date and be wary of text messages from unknown numbers
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This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
