In recent years, the world has witnessed a surge in scams, particularly those based on text messages. These scams have been prevalent in multiple countries, including India, but a new report suggests that American consumers have lost millions of dollars due to SMS scams. According to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database, text message scams cost US consumers $330 million in 2022, more than double the amount reported in 2021. The report emphasizes that scam artists exploit the speed of text communication, hoping that victims won’t take the time to think about the message’s content. Many of these messages promise a gift, a package, or even a job, while others aim to make victims panic, thinking someone has accessed their accounts. Unfortunately, these scams are nothing but lies and a means to steal people’s money and personal information.
As per the report, complaints about text scams surged in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the numbers never returned to pre-pandemic levels. Among a randomly selected set of 1,000 suspicious texts, most of the fraudulent messages aimed to mimic well-known businesses. Since 2019, complaints about texts impersonating banks have grown by nearly 20 times. Scammers try to attract victims by promising a free gift from popular retailers or cell phone companies, or by asking them to click on a link and pay shipping fees for a fake prize they’ll never receive.
One of the most popular scams is text messages imitating banks. For instance, one sample message reads “Wells Fargo Bank Fraud Alert: Did you attempt a purchase at Walmart for $1,263.89? Reply YES or NO.” Once recipients respond with a “yes” or “no,” they receive a fake phone call from scammers posing as representatives of the bank’s fraud department. The average loss reported for this type of scam was $3,000 in 2022, and victims also shared sensitive information with the scammers, including their Social Security Numbers.
The report indicates that nearly 98% of recipients opened these texts, while 45% of users responded to these messages, far surpassing email-related scams’ open and response rates, which are 20% and 6%, respectively. Given that text messaging is a more common communication method than voice calls and emails, scamming via text messages seems like the perfect crime.
Finally, the report identifies the top companies in 2022 that have been impersonated for text scams, including Bank of America (14%), Wells Fargo (12%), Chase (12%), and Citibank (9%). In summary, consumers must be vigilant and question every text message that comes their way to avoid falling victim to these devious scams.
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Alex Smith is a writer and editor with over 10 years of experience. He has written extensively on a variety of topics, including technology, business, and personal finance. His work has been published in a number of magazines and newspapers, and he is also the author of two books. Alex is passionate about helping people learn and grow, and he believes that writing is a powerful tool for communication and understanding.
