A new scam is currently increasingly circulating in Austria. A text message indicates that the household goods will soon seized because a debt has allegedly not been paid. But this SMS is a scam and should be deleted as soon as possible.
Do not click on the link
Klaus Steinmaurer, RTR's managing director for the telecommunications and postal department, explains: "The SMS naturally contain a dubious link that you should click on in order to be able to settle the supposedly outstanding claim immediately by means of payment." However, this link should not be clicked as it may contain malware or lead to an app that, if downloaded onto the device, can bring viruses with it.
Furthermore, you should “not allow yourself to be tempted to give even the slightest hint about your account details via the link,” warns the expert.
However, opening the pure SMS is harmless.
Delete anyway
Nevertheless, the RTR request is clear: “Do not click on the link, do not make a transfer, delete the SMS immediately! And under no circumstances should you comply with a request to install an app.”
How to recognize scam SMS?
It is difficult to say which fraudsters are behind this SMS. Because the messages are sent with a fake sender ID and automatically. For this reason, tracking is not possible.
In general, the RTR unfortunately does not have a patent recipe for how to say with certainty whether it is a fraudulent SMS. However, it is advisable to be suspicious and pay attention to whether the text of the SMS contains anything unusual. These include, for example, strange URLs, spelling errors or inappropriate special characters. “These can be indications that something is wrong,” says Steinmaurer.
In addition, the texts of the SMS are often vague; instead of a specific date, a time may be stated as “tomorrow” or “next week”.
Report fake SMS
You can report uncovered fraudulent SMS messages at https://www.rufnummernverkehrs.at . This means that fraudulent activities that occur frequently can be quickly identified and the Rundfunk und Telekom Regulatory GmbH (RTR) can issue an official warning for rapid communication in these cases.
You can also report the fake to us if you are not sure whether it is a scam or something similar. We will then review your request as quickly as possible. – Please use the messaging feature on our Mimikama Facebook page .
You can also find a list of observations and warnings about recent phone number scams HERE
Sources:
Futurezone , Standard
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