FBI Warning—Delete New Texts On Your Phone

New text threat targets smartphone users
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The FBI warns a threat moving across America “from state to state" targets citizens via malicious SMS (smishing) texts, teling iPhone, Android users to “delete any smishing texts received.” Now cybercriminals have registered “over 10,000 domains” to fuel a new wave of attacks. These new texts are easy to detect — delete them right away.
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The new report comes via Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42. The new campaign, it says, “entices users to reveal personal and/or financial information, including credit or debit card and account information.” The original threat focuses on toll scams, with state-specific payment links; the new set of domains adds delivery services into the mix.
The toll scam has been generating headlines in recent months, with rarely a week passing by without a new report from state or local media somewhere in America. The FTC warns that “not only is the scammer trying to steal your money, but if you click the link, they could get your personal info and even steal your identity.”
All the smishing texts follow a similar pattern. You have an unpaid bill and need to pay it urgently to avoid higher costs or worse. There is a link to the payment site — which is where the new domains come into play. Given iMessage blocks such links, the texts include instructions to either reply or copy the link into Safari to make payment.