A warning about your account, a payment you didn't make, or a locked card, with a link to fix it or a number to call. How to tell, and what to do.
Text Message
Bank of America: Did you attempt a purchase of $1,249.00 at Apple Store? Reply YES or NO.
On this page
Text Message
Bank of America: Did you attempt a purchase of $1,249.00 at Apple Store? Reply YES or NO.
Text Message
Your Wells Fargo card has been locked due to unusual activity. Unlock it now: https://wf-
From to me
Netflix: Your payment was declined. Update your card within 24 hours to keep watching: https://netflix-
Examples. The names and amounts change; the shape doesn't.
A problem you must fix now, through the message. A locked card, a strange payment, a declined bill, and a link or a number to sort it out.
A link to a website that isn't the company's own. Look at the end of the address (see How scams pretend).
“Reply YES or NO”, then a call. Your reply tells them someone is there. A “fraud team” then calls and asks for a code, or asks you to move your money.
Something your bank never asks. Your bank will never ask you to read out a code, give your PIN, move money to “keep it safe”, take out cash, or send someone for your card.
A name or number that looks right. Caller ID and sender names can be faked, even with your bank's real number.
Don't tap the link, call the number, or reply.
Check bills, payments and accounts in the company's own app. Not through a link or number in a message. For your bank, call the number on the back of your card.
If someone calls saying they're your bank, hang up, even if they ask you to stay on the line, and call the number on your card yourself.
Still not sure? Check the message. We open its link on a phone and a computer, not yours, and tell you what it is.
Then delete it. You can report it to your bank, and to your police or your country's fraud reporting service. Your phone may also let you report it as junk or spam. In the US and UK, you can also forward a scam text to 7726.
In the US: ReportFraud.ftc.gov (the FTC's website, opens in a new tab)