Bank Mobile Alert Visa Card Locked SCAM : VISA Card temporarily locked Phishing
Why this looks valid
- The text is coming from an address which makes it look like an alert
- The text includes an ID number to make it look more valid
- Many people have Visa credit cards and receive valid text notifications from the issuing bank, including lockout messages
Why this is fraud
- Valid credit card alerts will always come from the issuing bank of the credit card
- Valid credit card alerts come from official texting services where the “from” number is 5 or 6 digits
- You may not have signed up for text messaging, in which case a card lockout alert would never be received by text message
- The phone number is not any bank or credit card service
Also Read : wellmarkma.nationsbenefits.com/login
Additional notes
- What is a SMISH? It is a short way to refer to phishing messages sent by texting, also known as SMS
- Scams by text are very common – here is more information from the FTC on how to recognize them: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages
- Did you know: a great way find out quickly if this is a legitimate text is to search the phone number in Google – any valid alert would include a phone number that traces back to an official corporate website
- This example came from yours truly here at Gone Phishing, one of three received in as many days! The other messages said I was locked out of my Amazon and PayPal accounts. It is very common to recieve these messages many times over a period of days, and the best course of action is to ignore and delete them.
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