Did you get a recent text about your rewards points expiring? The FTC is warning that some of those messages are phishing scams designed to steal your personal or financial information, such as SSNs and credit card details.
According to the FTC, scammers are sending texts with threatening language that your rewards points will expire if you don’t take immediate action. The message will be accompanied by a link for you to click to save your points. Instead of taking you to a legitimate company site, you will be directed to a lookalike phishing page.
While the FTC didn’t specify which companies are being referenced in the scam, reports from security researchers and consumers indicate that AT&T and Verizon reward programs have both been used in recent messaging. And it’s probable the scammers will add more company names to the list they use to avoid detection and improve victim response rates.
How to avoid getting fooled by a phishing text
As with any unsolicited text, the best advice for staying safe is to never click any links or call any phone number directly from the message. Instead, login to the official company app or website to verify that the message you received is valid. When calling, look up the company customer service number yourself through its official app or verified website, not just what comes up at the top of a Google search.
The same guidance holds true for email. And it’s important to be aware that scammers can spoof the sender’s address to make it appear as though an email came from a specific company. Here’s a quick way to check whether an email has been spoofed or is a valid customer service notification.
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