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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JUNE 16. 2022
BEWARE OF TEXT
MESSAGING SCAMS
Georgia Attorney General Warns of Text Message Scams
Attorney General Chris
Carr is warning Georgians to
be on the lookout for text
message scams, including
texts from unknown or unex
pected senders with links re
questing payment or
sensitive information.
“Scammers will use any
means to commit their
crimes, including sending
texts that initially appear to
come from a trusted source,
such as a government entity,
law enforcement agency,
bank or well-known retailer,”
said Carr. “What may seem
like an urgent or enticing
message is often an attempt
by a fraudster to infect your
device or steal your money or
personal information. Our
goal is to ensure Georgians
have the resources they need
to protect themselves from
fraudsters and thieves, and
we stand ready to assist any
consumer who thinks they
may have fallen victim to a
text message scam.”
The Attorney General’s
Consumer Protection Divi
sion offers the following in
formation to help Georgians
identify and avoid common
text message scams.
Common Text
Message Scams
• Driver’s License Scams:
You receive a text message
claiming to be from the De
partment of Driver Services
informing you that your li
cense has been temporarily
suspended. You are then
asked to follow a fraudulent
link to verify your driver’s li
cense information. This is a
scam. The Department of
Driver Services never com
municates with customers via
text message unless the cus
tomer contacts them first. If
there is an issue with some
one’s driver’s license, the
agency will contact cus
tomers in writing before tak
ing any action.
• Government Imposter
Scams: Don’t be fooled by
threatening text messages
from the IRS, the Social Se
curity Administration, law
enforcement or other govern
ment agencies warning that
you will be arrested or that
your Social Security account
will be suspended unless you
click on a link and provide
payment information imme
diately. Ignore the message
and, if you are worried there
might actually be some legit
imacy to the claim, look up
the actual number for the
agency and call it directly.
• Prizes and Reward
Points: A scammer posing as
a well-known company, such
as Amazon, Walmart or
AT&T, sends out a text mes
sage claiming that you have
won a prize or that, if you are
among the first 100 people to
click on a link, you will win
a prize. If you click on the
link, you will be prompted to
enter your bank account so
the “prize money” can be di
rectly deposited into your ac
count. In a similar scenario,
you receive a text message
from a well-known store or
online retailer claiming that
you have reward points that
will expire soon. Again, you
are asked to click on a link
that will prompt you to enter
your financial and/or account
information.
• Package Deliveries:
These fraudulent text mes
sages claim there is a pack
age waiting for you and
prompt you to click on a link
to confirm delivery, set deliv
ery preferences or track the
package. If you click on the
link, you will be asked to
enter your personal informa
tion or to provide payment
information in order to com
plete the delivery. The best
thing to do in this scenario is
to refrain from replying to or
clicking any links in the mes
sage. Instead, contact the
shipper directly by looking
up the actual customer serv
ice contact information for
them.
• Bank Account Sus
pended: You receive a text
warning you of fraudulent ac
tivity on your account. You
are asked to click on a link or
call a phone number that
prompts you to provide your
debit or credit card, account
number and/or PIN. Again,
do not respond to the sender
or click on the link. Instead,
call the phone number for the
financial institution that ap
pears on the back of your
credit or debit card or on your
monthly statement.
Tips to Avoid Text
Message Scams
• Don’t click on links or
reply to texts from unknown
or unverified senders.
It could download malware
onto your phone that can in
fect your device, give the
scammer access to all of your
data, or lock your phone.
• Never provide your
credit card number, bank ac
count, driver’s license, online
account name, password, or
PIN to someone who texts
you out of the blue. If you
want to confirm whether the
text message is legitimate,
contact the company or
agency directly through a
verified phone number or
website - not the one pro
vided in the text message.
• Do not respond to a sus
picious or unwanted text
message, even if prompted to
"text STOP" to end mes
sages. While texting “STOP”
to a legitimate organization
can opt you out of receiving
future texts, doing so in re
sponse to a scam message
can actually let the scammer
know your number is active
and can be sold to other bad
actors. You can try verifying
whether the number from
which the texts are coming is
legitimate by looking up the
number online to see if it is
used by a reputable organiza
tion or business for text mes
sages.
• Make sure your smart
device and security apps are
updated to the latest version.
Contact the organization that
the con artist is impersonat
ing so that they are aware and
can take appropriate action.
Report the message to your
phone carrier by forwarding
it to 7726.
• Block suspicious num
bers and delete the associated
text messages.
• Report scam texts to the
Federal Communications
Commission online or by
calling (888) 225-5322.
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