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January 24th, 2022
We’ve all received those messages that seem to come out of nowhere during the middle of the day. In fact, these scam messages are becoming increasingly common, with thousands of people getting scam messages with links in them every day. But what are they exactly and why do you get so many of them sent to your phone? What do these people want?
In this article, we’ll walk you through where these Scam messages come from and how to make sure that your information stays safe from these messages
Why Do Scammers Send Text Messages With Links?
Scammers send out these messages for one simple reason. These messages work. Scammers have scammed people out of millions of dollars using these techniques. If you’ve got a couple of these text messages, you’ll notice that they all try to create a sense of urgency. They either make you believe that you’ve won something, or that you’ve done something wrong and you’re about to be punished for it. Capitalizing on your fear or excitement is designed to stop you from thinking too hard about whether or not it’s a good idea to type your Social Security Number into this website that you’ve never seen before. The most straightforward way of making sure you don’t fall for these scams is to run a reverse phone lookup on the number that the text message came from.
Scammers use these text messages to get information out of you for scams. Scammers send out scam text messages with links in order to get you to click. Sometimes these links can lead to a page that asks you to enter your personal information. The links in these scam messages can have a couple of goals.
 1. Stealing your Identity
Identity theft can be a devastating crime to be a victim of. This is because, in 2021, so much of our lives are protected by our passwords. One data breach can put you and your family in serious danger financially and in some cases even physically. These text messages will often ask you to “Verify your account information” Scam text messages with links to fake websites that look official will ask for information like your social security number (SSN) to hack into your accounts and break havoc on your life. These are called phishing scams.
2. Trick You into Sending Money
One way or another, all scam messages are aimed at getting your money. Some scams messages are just more straightforward at doing so. One of the ways scammers will get you to send them money is by sending you a text message saying your bank is about to shut down your account unless you send them $500 to keep it open. One of the most common text scams are ones that have to do with gift cards. Someone requesting a gift card is one of the biggest red flags there is. Scammers use Gift Cards to launder their money, and if you get a text message with a link to a gift card selling platform, someone is likely trying to use you as a money mule.
3. Scam You Into Falling In love With Them
Sometimes, scammers will impersonate someone to manipulate you. Sending you a massage followed by a picture of an attractive-looking person is the first step in a romance scam. In romance scams, scammers charm you in your first interaction, then they get to know you enough to find out your unique vulnerabilities in order to manipulate you into sending them money. In romance scams, text messages are just the start. They will often ask you to move to a different platform where they can use their network of scammers to monitor your conversations and deliver the perfect responses to your messages. These scams are often very effective. In fact, over $4.2 billion was lost due to romance scams in 2020 alone.
Become Scam Proof With Social Catfish
Scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated by the day. Every day a scammer somewhere comes up with a new high-tech way to steal your money. That’s why at Social Catfish, We give you the tools to stay ahead of the scammers. Search any name, phone number, image, or email address to see all of the public information on the person you’re talking to. Use the search bar below to start running searches.
