Beware! Another Big Phone Scam For All of Us To Worry About!

Do you shop online a lot? I know I do. It makes life so much easier. Well, guess what? There is another scam out there for us to worry about. Did I say another SCAM? Shocking, isn't it!

NO, NOT AGAIN!

The FTC, Federal Trade Commission, and United States Postal Inspection Service want you to be aware of a recent scam that has reached cellphones around the country, possibly even yours.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I FELL FOR THAT!

This is the latest one. Scammers will send you what looks like an official looking e-mail with some sort of shipping or delivery notification. They’re hoping that whether or not you actually purchased an item, it’ll stir up your curiosity enough for you to click a link and give them things like usernames, passwords or a credit card number so that your package isn’t “returned to sender.” Guess what? You were just "SHMISHED!"

OOPS!

These scammers are running this sort of scam via text message instead of email and because the scam is reaching you by SMS (short message service,) it’s being called “smishing.” The United States Postal Service says NO, NO, NO, it's not them.

The USPS will never reach out to you with one of these delivery texts without you asking them for something like a tracking number. You have to opt in for their tracking services and once you do, they say that their text messages will NOT contain a link.

WHAT'S A PERSON TO DO?

If you get a “smishing” text, copy the body of the text into an e-mail and send it to spam@uspis.gov. They’d also like you to include details like the number it came from, if you did actually click the link and if doing so resulted in a loss of money or impacted your credit.

Legitimate USPS tracking notifications, that you ONLY receive after you’ve requested them, are associated with the number 28777.

BE CAREFUL!