Is This Text Legit? How to Identify a Spam Text Message
Odds are you’ve sent or received a text message (or several dozen) in the last couple of hours or minutes, even. It’s also pretty likely that within seconds of your phone buzzing, you took a quick peek to see who’s messaging you and what they have to say. This instant point of contact is exactly why scammers are moving from malicious emails to malicious texts.
If you’ve recently received a text from a number you don’t recognize, there’s a high chance it’s a scammer on the other end. Today, we’ll go over how to identify a fake text message, including examples and tips on how to keep yourself safe!
How Fake Text Scams Work
Before diving into details, it’s worth taking a second to talk about how these fake texts work and what they’re ultimately after (spoilers: it’s your money and private information). Fake texts are often an attempt at something called smishing (sms + phishing), which is essentially sending malicious links disguised as something else in an attempt to steal your private information.
Alternatively, some fake texts are an attempt at social engineering or catfishing, in which the scammer tries to create some form of a relationship (romantic or platonic) and then uses those attachments to ask for gifts or “favors.”
How to Identify a Fake Text Message
When you break it down, it’s pretty easy to spot a fake text if you know what to look for. If an unknown number is texting you, here are some red flags to look out for:
- The text includes a link
- The number is international (or has extra digits)
- The message is unsolicited
- There’s a sense of urgency (i.e., you owe money, someone you know is in trouble, etc.)
- The message has strange grammar, spelling, or characters
- You receive an alert about a giveaway you never entered
- Claims to be from a friend, family member, or work colleague using a new number, but doesn’t sound like them
- The message is prompting you to send some form of payment or sensitive private information
- It’s being sent in a group message, and you know none of the other numbers included
That’s not an exhaustive list, but it should cover you from most scam texts. To give you some clearer context, next, we’ll cover some examples of how some of these requests look in real life.
Common Spam Text Messages Examples
The following examples are common types of texts that scammers like to send. If any of these end up on your screen, your best course of action is to 1. never click any links, and 2. immediately delete and report as spam. Let’s take a look.
1. Fake Delivery Scam Texts
One of the most common fake text scams is the fake delivery text. The text will claim to be from USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, or some other courier, alerting you about a package. It will generally tell you there is an issue that you need to address by clicking a link, or it will simply provide you a link to track the package (which doesn’t exist, by the way).
What to do: When it comes to a delivery text, never click any of the links. If you are actually expecting a package or it’s plausible that one was sent to you, navigate to the official courier website to investigate.
2. “Suspicious Login Attempt” Scam Texts
Scams work by creating urgency. If a text pops up on your phone claiming someone is trying to log in to one of your accounts, it’s fair to panic and try to quickly follow instructions to stop it. The problem here is that there was no attempt, and you just accidentally gave scammers all the information they need to actually compromise your account.
What to do: Because some accounts will actually notify you of attempted logins, you don’t want to fully disregard the message. Don’t interact with the message, but do navigate to the official website of whatever account supposedly notified you, and contact support directly. They’ll either be able to help you or let you know that nothing is wrong.
3. Fraud Alert Scam Texts
Similar to the login alert scam, fraud alerts that look like they are coming from your bank can be worrying. Fortunately, more often than not (unless you’re frequently clicking random links), these fraud alert texts are actually just scam attempts.
What to do: If you get a text claiming to be from your bank about a suspicious transaction, once again, don’t click on anything in the text. Look up the verified number of your bank and call them directly. (Sometimes scammers will include a number in the text, don’t call it!) If there is actual fraudulent activity, they will help freeze your account and reverse any charges. Otherwise, they’ll let you know the text was a scam attempt.
4. Workplace Scam Texts
Getting a text from your boss can be stressful, especially if that text provides you with an urgent task. Scammers often go after newer employees for this scam, but can attempt it with anyone. In this scam, they pose as your boss or someone high-up at your company and tell you to quickly send them gift cards or money, claiming it’s for an urgent work event/reason and that you will be reimbursed. Of course, once you send the card or money, the scammers disappear and you’re left down a couple of hundred bucks (and some personal pride points).
What to do: If you get a text claiming to be from a boss or colleague from a number you don’t recognize, try and reach out to them on a line you usually use. If you don’t have a common contact number, reach out to a supervisor who can confirm with you what’s going on. Whether it’s a weird email or a weird number, don’t immediately do what a text says just because it’s supposedly from your boss. If you confirm it is actually your boss, though, you'd better get to it!
5. Giveaway Scam Texts
“Congrats! You’ve been selected as this month’s $10,000 giveaway!” If only it were true. Giveaway scams aren’t new, and because everyone likes winning, they’re unfortunately quite effective. These texts will claim you’re a winner, and then prompt you to click a link or call a number to verify yourself and claim your prize. Sometimes they’ll request you send a little money or gift cards to verify your account or cover made-up winners’ fees. Regardless, it’s all a scam.
What to do: The end result, of course, is you losing money, so be careful of any texts claiming you’ve won a contest or sweepstakes you never entered in the first place. If you do get one of these texts, ignore any links or numbers within. If, by chance, you have recently entered a giveaway, reach out directly to the platform you entered with, and they’ll be able to help. Again, no giveaway is going to require you to send them money, so if any suspicious requests are made, it’s too good to be true.
6. Emergency Scam Texts
Scammers know how to play on our emotions, and nothing feels more pressing than a friend or family member in need. With fake emergency texts, scammers pretend to be a loved one texting you from a different number due to some emergency. The text will often explain that they can’t talk on the phone, but need you to send money because they have been arrested, are in the hospital, or are in some other type of trouble. While nobody wants to leave a friend or family member in need hanging, it’s important to take some precautions before sending money based on a random text.
What to do: The first thing you should do is try to contact the person the text is claiming to be from. If that doesn’t work, try to reach out to other people who might be with them or be able to contact them. If that doesn’t work, pay attention to the request in the text. Does it sound like the person you know? Are they asking for you to click a link? Do they “need” gift cards? If any of these things are present, it’s most likely a scam.
7. Amazon Scam Texts
Recent studies have shown that 75% of U.S. shoppers have Amazon Prime accounts, with many using the service for frequent purchases and deliveries. While that may seem pretty ordinary for most of us, scammers see it as an opportunity — they know that if they send a text about a purchase on Amazon, there’s a high chance it’s going to a number that actually does have an account. At the very least, that usually grabs people’s attention.
Amazon scam texts usually work in one of two ways: they either employ the login attempt scam we mentioned above, or try to alert you to a recent purchase made on your account (usually a high-ticket electronic item). The text then prompts you to follow a link if you didn’t make the purchase, which you obviously didn’t.
What to do: If you get an Amazon alert about a purchase or some other activity, go straight to your account through Amazon, rather than interacting with the text in any way. If you don’t see the item in your recent orders, the text is safe to delete and report as spam. If you do see something you don’t recognize, contact Amazon support directly through their website.
8. Wrong Number Scam Texts
One of the newer, more popular fake text scams involves you getting a message that seems like a casual text from someone with the wrong number. It’ll look something like, “we still on for golf?” or “do you want to come over for chicken and wine tonight?” The natural response is to tell them they have the wrong number, but, since it’s all a ruse, they follow up with something like “I’m new in town and looking for friends, maybe you’d like to golf/come over for dinner?” There is no tee time or dinner that actually exists, but instead just an attempt to create some sort of relationship they can prey on.
What to do: Generally, it’s best to completely ignore a text that doesn’t identify who the sender is, but if you have recently met some new people and didn’t grab their number, it’s fair to send a “sorry, who is this?” reply back. If the response is dodgy or a name you don’t recognize, your best bet is to simply hit “block.”
Check the Number
If your curiosity just can’t be contained, there is something you can do besides answering the text (which feeds into scammers’ ploys): Run a number search through a tool like PeopleWin.
You’ll get the available breakdown of who’s behind the number, where they’re located, and other useful information (like social media accounts) for figuring out who the heck keeps texting you.
Cyrus Grant is a writer from Southern California with a background in law and dispute resolution. When he isn’t writing, he can be found deep-diving into the latest technology trends or simply spending time at the beach.