Consumers Lost a Whopping USD 330 Million to SMS Scams in United States- Details Here 

SMS Scam Alert: Consumers Lost a Whopping USD 330 Million to SMS Scams in United States- Details Here

Over the past few years, scams across the world have increased at an alarming rate. Amongst them, text message-based scams have been common in multiple countries, including India. Now, a new report claims that consumers in the US have lost millions due to these SMS scams. According to a report from FTC’s Consumer Sentineldatabase, text message scams took consumers for $330 million in 2022.

“Scammers use the speed of text communication to their advantage: they hope you won’t slow down and think over what’s in the message,” the FTC said.

“Some messages promise a good thing — a gift, a package, or even a job. Others try to make you panic, thinking someone’s in your accounts. These are all lies and ways to take your money and personal information,” it added.

In a screening of a randomly selected set of 1,000 deceptive text messages, it was discovered that the majority of fraudulent communication aimed to mimic well-known businesses.

Reports about texts impersonating banks are up nearly twentyfold since 2019, said the report. “Wells Fargo Bank Fraud Alert: Did you attempt a purchase at Walmart for $1,263.89? Reply YES or NO,” one of the sample messages reads.

If the recipient answers yes or no, they will receive a bogus phone call from the bank’s alleged fraud department. Last year, the reported median loss for this type of scam was $3,000, and the agency has emphasised that victims of this scam shared sensitive information with the scammers, including their Social Security Number.

How these scams victimise users

One of the sample messages reads: “Wells Fargo Bank Fraud Alert: Did you attempt a purchase at Walmart for $1,263.89? Reply YES or NO.”