Phishing is a fake message that pretends to be someone you trust so you will click a link, share a password, or hand over money. By text it is sometimes called “smishing.” It is now the most common way scams reach us. In 2024, people reported losing about $470 million to scams that started with a text message.
The texts you will actually see (the FTC’s top five):
- “There’s a problem with your package.” A fake USPS, UPS, or FedEx notice asking you to pay a small “redelivery fee” or confirm your address. This was the #1 scam text.
- A fake toll bill. “You have an unpaid toll, pay now to avoid a fine,” pretending to be E-ZPass, SunPass, or FasTrak.
- A fake bank or fraud alert. “Did you make this $2,000 purchase?” It looks like your bank or Amazon, and it is designed to get you on the phone with a fake “fraud department.”
- A surprise job offer with no details (covered in Lesson 5).
- A “wrong number” hello that turns friendly and, weeks later, into a fake investment pitch.
How to tell a fake from the real thing:
- The link is off. Real companies use their own website (usps.com), not a look-alike like “usps-redelivery-info.com.” When in doubt, do not tap it.
- It creates urgency or asks for a payment, a password, or a code.
- It arrives out of the blue about a package you are not expecting or a toll you never owed.
- Good grammar is no longer proof it is real. Scammers now use AI to write clean, correct messages, so judge the request, not the spelling.
A quick example. You get a text: “USPS: your package cannot be delivered, update your address here.” You are not expecting a package. That is the tell. You delete it.
What to do:
- Do not tap links in unexpected texts or emails.
- To check on a package, toll, or bank alert, go to the company yourself, type the web address you know or call the number on your card or statement. If you are on a landline, call back from your cell phone or wait a few minutes first, because a scammer can hold the line open and play a fake dial tone.
- Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) so your carrier can block them, then delete.
- If you already sent money, call your bank, the wire company, the payment app, or the gift card issuer the same day and ask them to stop or reverse it. Do that first.
- Then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.