Once again, a successful business model attracts the attention of imposters. As more companies implement a mobile marketing strategy for their customers, con artists are finding ways to create a SMS service full of scams.
Scams like these have not reached too much traction in the United States, but do run rampant in Europe. In the U.K. alone, 3.5 million are victims of text message scams, accounting for about £3.5 billion, or $5.5 billion, per year, according to ITProPortal.
Spam messages are sent to users as if to appear like a special promotional offer. Naturally, if it sounds enticing enough, recipients will open the link in their web browser and type in their account details. Once submitted, a chain of fake text messages begin.
The scammer takes the victim's information and sends out text messages to a variety of phone numbers. Messages could be sent out to individuals in other countries, all unknowingly to the user, according to Infosecurity. Once you have caught on to the fraudulent messages, it's too late because the scammer found other phone numbers to use.
"Scammers are incredibly persistent and will continue to look for alternative methods for distributing SMS spam without getting caught," Ciaran Bradley, VP of handset security for AdaptiveMobile told Infosecurity.
Messages may look like something along the lines of "Your mobile has won 330,000 AUD in Nokia/freelotto.ref No: NFL964," with a name and number to contact.
However, these are not the only text scams out there. Ones that promote short-term loans without background checks or wiping out debt relief are the popular SMS scams in Europe. In the U.S., a majority of messages say that subscribers won a free cruise or an unknown prize. These text messages look similar to the pop-up advertisements users have seen online.
Keep your mobile subscribers safe by collaborating with a team like Swift SMS Gateway. We work with over 30,000 developers to ensure the authentic and safe mobile marketing campaigns.
