More scammers have shifted from email to texts
of ConsumerAffairsApril 15, 2025
Key takeaways
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Scammers are increasingly using text messages for fraud (smishing): As technology has evolved, so have scams moving from phone calls and emails to text messages. Smishing scams are now a common way for scammers to reach potential victims.
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Common smishing hooks use urgency, curiosity, or impersonation: Examples include fake job offers, urgent payment warnings, and mysterious or casual messages from unknown senders. These tactics are designed to prompt a response, confirming your number is active.
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Engaging with scam texts can lead to identity theft: Once a scammer knows your number is active and engages you in conversation, they can extract personal details and potentially steal your identity. Official sources like the FTC warn against interacting with unknown texts and emphasize that legitimate organizations rarely communicate sensitive matters via text.
Back in the day, when most people had landlines, scammers relied on the telephone to hook their victims. Some scams such as the grandparent scam still rely on a phone but over the years, scams have evolved with technology.
When the internet came along, scammers used email to target victims. Remember the Nigerian prince scam? An email claimed to be from a Nigerian prince who had been overthrown and he need to get millions of dollars out of the country and he would be happy to give you a cut if you would provide your bank information so he could transfer the money.
Common phrases
Lately, scammers are using text messages in what are known as smishing scams to connect with victims. ConsumerAffairs has collected some of the most common messages:
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Hi, hows it going?
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Hello, Im Sophia from Bonanz. Your background and resume have been recommended by several online recruitment agencies.
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Final Reminder: You have an unpaid toll. Failure to remit by April 16, 2025 will result in additional penalties.
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I was cleaning out my contacts and found your number. Who are you?
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Did you happen to see my message from yesterday?
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Hello, I am Lena, a human resources customer service representative of Adjust. Your resume has been recommended by several online recruitment companies.
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A pending debit of $1,174 at Target is processed. If you did not initiate it, visit (link).
The scammers may have a list of phone numbers or they may be dialing numbers at random. But if you respond and start a conversation, the scammer knows it is a working number and will quickly learn your name.
If the contact develops into a conversation, the scammer will learn other things about you perhaps enough to begin stealing your identity.
The FTC’s advice
The Federal Trade Commission has also been collecting scam texts and cautions consumers that these texts often:
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Promise free prizes, gift cards, or coupons but theyre not real
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Offer you a low or no interest credit card but theres no deal and probably no card
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Promise to help you pay off your student loans but they wont
Scammers also send fake messages that say they have information about your account or a transaction. Scammers might say theyve noticed some suspicious activity on your account but they havent.
Its helpful to remember that job recruiters dont off jobs in a text and if the message is from a number you dont know, its best to delete it without responding.
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