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Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 11:38 am
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Fake/Scam texts claiming to be banks aren’t anything new. But they are on the rise. I’ve noticed some scammers are trying to be even more clever.
This all results in hopes that you as the receiver of the texts will click on a link or call an 800 number. This would in turn complete the phishing scam.
The text
My dad recently showed me a message he was sent that claimed to be from Wells Fargo. I looked at it and knew it was a scam. It had some misspellings and it also came from a dot org address.
The sender
This text message came from what I can assume is an auto-generated address. It wasn’t an email or a standard text number. But it was listed as a text. (dot)org address.
wellsfargomsg4944648@txt.org
This was the first sign that it was a fake or phishing text. I also noted that Wells Fargo wouldn’t text him because they don’t have his number.
He didn’t think much of it and left me to deal with it.
The message
The message was different. It claimed that there was a transaction of under $70 that needed to be approved or declined by calling a number or visiting the link the sender provided.
Wells Fargo new transactions Of $69.11-0n H0LD #15323. Contact Us @ 844-682-0043 to approve/decline
Fake Wells Fargo text
How is this a scam text
This is a phishing text. I noticed this because of the fact that the O’s in some of the words were switched with 0(Zero’s). The text was also very informal and not something a bank would send out. No reputable company would use the @( at) symbol when asking you to contact them.
Also, the original text message also had brackets {} and one parenthesis (around Wells Fargo. The sender’s address was also a bit suspicious. I don’t think there is a txt dot org.
Pal’s Tips 🐾
- Never click links
- Always contact your bank or financial institution
- Never provide a caller with personal information
You can report these texts
You can report these texts to your cellphone provider and Wells Fargo.
You can visit the Wells Fargo support page below for more info.
https://www.wellsfargo.com/privacy-security/fraud/report/
To report the text as a scam to your phone provider you may have to long-press the text message and tap report scammer in the menu list.
Spread the word and don’t let anyone fall prey to this phishing scam.
