WE have all been there – a long-lost relative living in some obscure corner of the globe has passed away and poof, you’re a gazillionaire!
All you have to do is pay a small admin fee for the lawyer man to process the paperwork, provide your banking details and you will never have to work another day in your life.
Here’s the deal – stuff like that only ever happens in movies or romantic novels.
You’re being scammed and the crooks are getting more and more savvy with their methods.
Here are five of the worst SMS scams we could find online. Almost 100% of us have received at least one text similar to these, and it pays to know what the others might look like:
1. The Banker
We all are into getting nifty notifications via SMS for bank account activity. Crooks these days have found ways of setting up websites that look exactly like your online banking site, and even use numbers so similar to your normal bank SMS numbers that only close scrutiny will reveal to be incorrect.
No bank will ever ask you via SMS or email to update your account details. It’s not standard practice, so be aware.
And never click on the links, ever.
2. The Lucky Draw
This one requires no explanation.
The so called competition organisers are giving away a million Pounds (about R20-million bucks) but can’t even afford their own email domains?
If they claim to be the real deal, but use GMail accounts, be suspicious. Very suspicious.
3. The Security Alert
So kind of Google to let you know (via a mobile number you wouldn’t have given them) that hackers gained access to your GMail.
Not happening – if hackers do decide one day to hack Google, the entire world would know about it.
Delete and move on.
4. You’re a Winner
In the event that you really did win a competition, it’s highly unlikely that the folks running the comp would contact you via SMS.
The guideline here is quite simple – you will never win a competition if you didn’t actually enter one.
5. The Famous Person Ploy
This one is our favourite.
Crooks pretending to be your cell service provider are rather funny. Especially when they use the name of a well-known person to make it seem more ‘believable’.
Like the President of the Philippines for example.
Just…don’t even.
There are literally hundreds and thousands of opportunistic criminals out there looking to steal your identity, or make a quick buck from your gullible nature.
Never click on links to web pages unless sent to you by someone you know and trust, and never give out your ID number, cellphone number and address without good reason.
This information can easily be used to gain access to your private internet accounts, and turn your life into a cyber catastrophe.
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