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The Federal Trade Commission is among the agencies that have issued an alert after consumers made numerous complaints after receiving a text message saying that a package pending, telling the user to click a link to set up delivery for the item.
Once the link is clicked, users will be instructed to provide personal identifying information. Scammers have posed as drivers from FedEx, USPS, UPS, and other delivery services since the scam came to light.
The FTC said that in many cases the scammers know the cell phone user’s first name – and sometimes even their last name -- though the messages are not legitimate.
“The scammers are pretty crafty in putting these things together and trying to trick people to fall for them by making them think that they’re real messages,” an FTC spokesperson noted.
According to the FTC, “If you get an unexpected text message, don’t click on any links. If you think it could be legit, contact the company using a website or phone number you know is real. Don’t use the information in the text message.”
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