Over the last few years, scams have increased at an alarming rate across the globe. Among them, text message-based scams are common in many countries including India. Now, a new report claims that consumers in the US have lost millions due to these SMS scams. according to a report by FTC‘S consumer watchdogDatabase, text message scams could cost consumers $330 million in 2022. The report also claimed that the amount mentioned for SMS scams in the US has also more than doubled compared to the losses recorded in 2021. People reported in 2019.
“Scammers use the speed of text communication to their advantage: They hope you won’t slow down and consider what’s in the message. Some messages promise a good thing—a gift, a package. , or even a job. Others try “To think that someone is on your account makes you panic,” the FTC said. These are all lies and ways to get your money and personal information.”
Text message scams imitating banks have increased nearly 20-fold
According to the report, there has been an increase in complaints of text scams in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also noted that the number of complaints never returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The report found that among 1,000 randomly selected suspicious messages, the majority of fraudulent messages were intended to mimic well-known businesses. The report states that since 2019, complaints about text messages impersonating banks have increased almost 20-fold.
How these scams prey on users
One of the sample messages reads: “Wells Fargo Bank Fraud Alert: Did you try shopping at Walmart for $1,263.89? Answer yes or no.”
Whenever recipients answered yes or no, they received a fake phone call from scammers impersonating the bank’s fraud department. In 2022, the reported average loss for this type of scam was $3,000. The report also stresses that the victims of these scams also shared sensitive information with the fraudsters, including their social security number,
In addition, the report also mnoted that scammers tried to lure victims with promises of free gifts from popular retailers or even cell phone companies. Several reports asked recipients to click on a link and pay shipping charges for fake prizes that users never received.
Other text message scams have been reported
Some other SMS-based scams include fake package delivery scams, fraudulent job offers, and fake security alerts. Amazon,
The report also states that around 98% of recipients opened these texts while 45% of users replied to these messages. For comparison, scams involving e-mail have open and response rates of 20% and 6%, respectively.
Text is a more common communication method as more than half of consumers use regular daily text compared to voice or email.
The report also mentions the total loss of text fraud year-on-year – $67 million (2019), $86 million (2020), $131 million (2021) and $330 million (2022).
The report also identified the top companies impersonating banks for text scams in 2022. this also includes Bank of America (14%), Wells Fargo (12%), Chase (12%) and City Bank (9 percent).
“Scammers use the speed of text communication to their advantage: They hope you won’t slow down and consider what’s in the message. Some messages promise a good thing—a gift, a package. , or even a job. Others try “To think that someone is on your account makes you panic,” the FTC said. These are all lies and ways to get your money and personal information.”
Text message scams imitating banks have increased nearly 20-fold
According to the report, there has been an increase in complaints of text scams in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also noted that the number of complaints never returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The report found that among 1,000 randomly selected suspicious messages, the majority of fraudulent messages were intended to mimic well-known businesses. The report states that since 2019, complaints about text messages impersonating banks have increased almost 20-fold.
How these scams prey on users
One of the sample messages reads: “Wells Fargo Bank Fraud Alert: Did you try shopping at Walmart for $1,263.89? Answer yes or no.”
Whenever recipients answered yes or no, they received a fake phone call from scammers impersonating the bank’s fraud department. In 2022, the reported average loss for this type of scam was $3,000. The report also stresses that the victims of these scams also shared sensitive information with the fraudsters, including their social security number,
In addition, the report also mnoted that scammers tried to lure victims with promises of free gifts from popular retailers or even cell phone companies. Several reports asked recipients to click on a link and pay shipping charges for fake prizes that users never received.
Other text message scams have been reported
Some other SMS-based scams include fake package delivery scams, fraudulent job offers, and fake security alerts. Amazon,
The report also states that around 98% of recipients opened these texts while 45% of users replied to these messages. For comparison, scams involving e-mail have open and response rates of 20% and 6%, respectively.
Text is a more common communication method as more than half of consumers use regular daily text compared to voice or email.
The report also mentions the total loss of text fraud year-on-year – $67 million (2019), $86 million (2020), $131 million (2021) and $330 million (2022).
The report also identified the top companies impersonating banks for text scams in 2022. this also includes Bank of America (14%), Wells Fargo (12%), Chase (12%) and City Bank (9 percent).