Verizon Customers At Risk of Underhanded Text Scam

A new phishing scam, similar to a recent attack that affected T-Mobile, has been sending victims unsolicited texts in order to steal data without them knowing.

Verizon subscribers have reported a particular phone number associated with the malicious messages. Users reported the issue on Saturday, October 9th, when recipients received a notification about their bills having been paid for the previous month. The contact number, 562-666-1159, sent out a message that said “Verizon Free Msg: Sept bill is paid. Thanks, (first name)! Here’s a little gift for you.”

It’s unlikely for the company to send out gifts to subscribers, and most individuals had already paid their previous month’s bill. Hackers asked people to provide their personal information in order to receive the gift. If that request was granted, a person’s security number, bank account information, and other sensitive information might be stolen.

If your account gets hacked, its possible for criminals to order phones and start lines on your account that would require you to pay the price instead.

Before you find yourself falling victim to a phishing scam, whether that’s from a text message or an email, make sure to verify the information that’s being sent to you. Confirm phone numbers that you do not know, or email addresses that are coming from domains outside of your organization. Be aware of any grammatical errors, weird spellings, or incoherent sentences that appear in these messages. Also, make sure to check any URLs by hovering over them in emails or viewing them closely over text to see if the URL matches a legitimate website.

Phishing scams have been on the rise. According to TechTimes, UPS delivery scams, Outlook and Gmail scams, amongst others have been occurring within the last few years.

While these types of cyberattacks aren’t going to stop anytime soon, it’s up to individuals and organizations together to be thoughtful in how they interact with digital content in today’s day and age. Whether you’re at work or at home, cybercriminals are targeting your sensitive data. Maintaining multiple factors of authentication for your accounts, participating in employee training, and remaining vigilant are ways to stay cybersafe.