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Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 10:58 am
As we know text scams aren’t anything new. Neither are the Your account is on hold or will be canceled text scams.
I had two scam texts this week that were within an hour of each other. Both seemed to be about Netflix.
The text messages
I had two text messages from what appeared to be the same sender (used different email addresses but similar messages)
The texts were for Netflix accounts from what I could tell. They were phishing scams because the messages had different URLs that were suggested you visit to remove the hold on your account. Or to renew an account.
One text was sent at 3:10 am while the other was sent at 4:39 am (PDT).
The jokes on the scammers because I don’t have Netflix.
The senders
Both came from what looked like an email account to text messages.
The messages
The text messages were similar. They suggested you visit a URL to recover your account or to remove a hold. They also included generic ID codes.
This is a phishing scam
To me, this seems like a phishing scam. The scammers are hoping to gain either financial info or some other personal information.
The language used is clear that this isn’t from someone who is a native English speaker. The first text used the word Expired and not will expire today.
Other suspicious grammar
Aside from the bad spelling you can see that the text has the number 1 (one) swapped for the letter L. Also, some of the O’s are replaced with 0 (zeros). I also noticed that in the second text message, the letter L was swapped out with a capital I.
The usage of odd or unneeded underscores (_) or quotation marks single or double also makes no sense.
Lastly, the fact that the text uses random ID numbers should also be a warning.
Pal’s Tips 🐾
Here are a few tips to think about before you click on any links
- Always check with your service provider
- Do a quick online search for a scam using the brand (Netflix etc.)
- Never click on any links even if directed to do so.
- Never provide any financial or personal information if asked.
What you can do
If you are sent a text like these you can flag it as spam with your cell phone provider. You can also forward it to the brand if there is one listed.
Here are a few emails that you can use to report phishing scams.
Amazon:
Netflix:
phishing@netflix.com
Paypal:
phishing@paypal.com
Chase:
phishing@chase.
Citi
spoof@citi.com
Wells Fargo:
reportphish@wellsfargo.com
Remember to never click any unknown URLs even if you don’t fill out the form this could leave your phone vulnerable to added malware or even other spyware.
