[The security box] Verizon subscribers are the target of a phishing expedition; do not respond to this text message

[Jared Rimer]

So is AT&T, and as I'm writing for post 9 of ncsam, it is just a matter 
of time if the other U.S. carriers are affected by this recent scam 
going on.

Jared Rimer
Check out my shows on 986 the mix. www.986themix.com/schedule for more 
info. Shows are on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
Wednesday's show is on the independent channel. Check schedule for time
www.jaredrimer.net for my other site.

On 10/13/2021 10:00 PM, Michael Brock via Thesecuritybox wrote:
> 
> Verizon subscribers are the target of a phishing expedition; do not 
> respond to this text message
> PhoneArena - News  /  Alan Friedman
> 
> <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhoneArena-LatestNews/~3/RRtGyD5ZhpI/verizon-subscribers-need-to-watch-out-for-this-scam_id135618>
> Verizon subscribers are the target of a phishing expedition; do not 
> respond to this text message
> Recently we told you about spam texts received by T-Mobile customers 
> <https://www.phonearena.com/news/t-mobile-customers-targeted-for-spam-texts_id135518>. 
> It is possible that the phone numbers used to send out the bogus 
> messages came from the recent data breach that affected 48 million 
> T-Mobile subscribers. The text tried to make it appear as though it came 
> from T-Mobile and offered the recipients of the message a $100 free gift 
> because of an outage that occurred the previous day.
> There were signs that the whole thing was bogus including the way 
> T-Mobile was typed as Tmobile, something that we assume a real text from 
> T-Mobile <https://www.phonearena.com/t-mobile> would never include. And 
> hidden away in the fine print was the truth: the text was sent by a 
> marketing company with no connection to T-Mobile and the company sent it 
> trying to gather information about T-Mobile customers, possibly trying 
> to gather up confirmed phone numbers of the carrier's customers.
> 
> 
>     Verizon subscribers should watch out for this bogus text message
>     trying to steal personal information
> 
> Now, Verizon <https://www.phonearena.com/verizon> customers seem to be 
> receiving unsolicited texts by another bad actor phishing for 
> information in order to rip you off. The text message, from a bogus 
> phone number (562-666-1159), says "Verizon Free Msg: Sept bill is paid. 
> Thanks, (first name of the customer)! Here's a little gift for you." A 
> link follows.
> Someone's going phishing using this bogus text to try and gather 
> personal information from Verizon subscribers - Verizon subscribers are 
> the target of a phishing expedition; do not respond to this text message 
> <https://m-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/380558-350/bogusvzw>
> 
> Someone's going phishing using this bogus text to try and gather 
> personal information from Verizon subscribers
> 
> First of all, most Verizon subscribers have already paid their September 
> bill so while it might seem that the text must be from Verizon since it 
> knew that you paid last month's invoice, as a Verizon customer this 
> writer can tell you that the nation's largest carrier doesn't offer you 
> a gift just for making your payment on time; heck, Verizon won't send 
> you a gift for paying your bill earlier than the due date.
> 
> If you get this text or something that resembles it, do not click on the 
> link. If you do, you might be directed to a site asking you to fill out 
> personal information such as your name, address, social security number, 
> phone number, and other information that can be used to change your 
> Verizon password.
> 
> With this information, you could lose control of your Verizon account 
> while the bad actor changes the address, password, and other 
> information. Once that is accomplished, this criminal orders expensive 
> new phones that you'll be paying for. The devices get sent to your 
> account's new address which is controlled by the crook.
> 
> 
>     If you receive a questionable text or email, call the carrier to see
>     if it is genuine
> 
> The person who received the text in the photo that accompanies this 
> story knew it was a fake because the message used her first name even 
> though the account they have is a company account. Be careful because 
> whatever information you give away about your wireless account can come 
> back to bite you in the wallet. And there are many different phishing 
> stories to go around including one involving Verizon that we told you 
> about a few years ago 
> <https://www.phonearena.com/news/Voice-phishing-can-cost-you-hundreds-or-thousands-of-dollars_id113746>.
> Whenever you get a text or email that looks like it could be genuine, 
> you should look for a tell. If a simple word is spelled incorrectly, or 
> the copy looks like it wasn't written by a professional, that should 
> make you cautious. If the carrier's name is incorrectly written (Tmobile 
> vs. the correct T-Mobile), that is a good clue. But even if there are no 
> tells, you should be suspicious since much is at stake.
> If you're unsure whether a text or email is genuine, call the carrier it 
> supposedly came from and ask whether someone there sent you the message 
> in question. Also, we would suggest that everyone with a wireless 
> account set up a password or PIN to prevent your account from falling 
> into the wrong hands. Earlier this month, the FCC announced that it was 
> asking the wireless operators to crack down on SIM card hijacking and 
> Port-out fraud 
> <https://www.phonearena.com/news/fcc-wants-carriers-to-confirm-customers-id-before-making-account-changes_id135450>, 
> two practices designed to steal subscribers' identities.
> 
> 
> Original Article: 
> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhoneArena-LatestNews/~3/RRtGyD5ZhpI/verizon-subscribers-need-to-watch-out-for-this-scam_id135618 
> <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhoneArena-LatestNews/~3/RRtGyD5ZhpI/verizon-subscribers-need-to-watch-out-for-this-scam_id135618>
> 
> 
> Michael Brock
> 
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