Identifying Phishing Scams in text messages

Eddiespeg wrote:

I received the same text..

Still a scam. You'll probably get more of them.

MissNikkiz wrote:

I got a message saying that 42 people called complaining that my number came up in a spam

Spam. Lies. Delete it. Move on with the rest of your day.

everettnucman wrote:

Received a charge for 388.15 I super it’s a prison cam phone number i808408****

Scam.

Calling and texting numbers can be faked, too.

This scam is still floating around. I got this today.

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Thank God for this community! I freaked out when I saw the exact same message in my text message on my cell phone. Also, the amount was the same amount you stated, "143.95." These guys are total scum.

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there was a fraud charge made from a company for that amount. Scammers called from the Apple Fraud number by spoofing it to look real. I had my husband call the number and they said it was a scam and change my password immediately. They were attempting to take over my Apple ID account.

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Just got this text today. Glad I came here to check to see if it’s a scam.

Apple Approval Notice

We have noticed that your Apple iCloud id was recently used at \"APPLE STORE - CA\" for $143.95, paid by Apple Pay Pre Authorization. Also some suspicious sign in request and apple pay activation request detected. That looks like suspicious to us. In order to maintain the security and privacy of your account we have placed those request on hold.  If NOT you? talk to an Apple Representative. Failing may lead to auto debit and charge will not be reversed. Call +1 866325xxxx immediately to cancel this charge.

Billing Department

Have a great day!

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powerhouse3 wrote:

... I just hope that individuals that 'use' Apple Pay do not fall for this.

You can be assured these scams work, or we wouldn’t need swimming in the messages, and with the various threads questioning the messages from those more wary among us.

pfhughes wrote:

The phone number on this scam text is a Hawaiian area code. Hmm!

The calling numbers shown are not those of the sender, just as the sending email addresses are not those of the sender. They’re fakes, or they’re appropriated-by-the-spammer real addresses of somebody else unrelated.

If the calling numbers were real, or if the sending email addresses were real, they could be easily blocked.

In some cases, the numbers or addresses are real, but they’re not the spammer’s. The sending numbers or sending email addresses can be associated with some unrelated-to-the-spam-itself person that the spammer wants to get others to harass and bombard with angry replies and “unsubscribe” me replies. Basically, some spammers use the anger of the recipients to harass somebody.

Or the spammer will send manufactured information — propaganda, lies, whatever — intended to turn the recipients against the sender, or to fleece the recipient, all by forging the sending info, and quite possibly also by posting similarly false websites and embedded links. Politics, propaganda, manipulation, fraud, all sorts of motivations to lie. Phishing mail and other sorts of fraud also works like this, including with well-crafted fake “login portal” websites, too.

I had somebody forge one of my email addresses in their spam runs years ago, and I got immense numbers of returned email message errors from misconfigured email servers, and errors and replies and for days, and that from a much smaller spam run and from a much smaller internet. The computer spent all its time just receiving the backwash of that spam.

You can trust certainly, but verify. We’re all unfortunately swimming in fraudulent email and SMS messages, and in the ever-increasing tsunami of AI-generated text spewage.

MrHoffman wrote:

You can trust certainly, but verify. We’re all unfortunately swimming in fraudulent email and SMS messages, and in the ever-increasing tsunami of AI-generated text spewage.

This isn’t new. Around 20 years ago a close friend who was writing a techno-thriller asked (by email) if it was possible for someone to send an email that appeared to be from his protagonist Jon Knox, but was actually from a agent of a secret organization. My reply to him came from Jon Knox.

Lawrence Finch wrote:

MrHoffman wrote:

You can trust certainly, but verify. We’re all unfortunately swimming in fraudulent email and SMS messages, and in the ever-increasing tsunami of AI-generated text spewage.

This isn’t new. Around 20 years ago a close friend who was writing a techno-thriller asked (by email) if it was possible for someone to send an email that appeared to be from his protagonist Jon Knox, but was actually from a agent of a secret organization. My reply to him came from Jon Knox.

An old mail system often sent messages to the recipients server synchronously line-by-line, as the user entered their lines of text. I tapped into the receiving mail server, and was answering arriving messages before the sender even finished mailing their message to me.

In this era, you can do the same thing with, for instance, reading web input form input data before the user saves the form.

Digitally signing more recent mail messages (S/MIME) is slightly tougher to fake, though.

But it’s just far easier to simply lie to the recipients, and some number of recipients will believe the lie. Much like the ongoing “pervert” sextortion scam, and other scams.

Got the same message exactly with the same amount but only on the iPad and not on the iPhone, I usually reply (on iPhone) that I am calling police before deleting and reporting and it usually stops the scammers.

Hi there,

I am so happy i came here and seen this comment. I just got the same Text out of no where and was questioning the #. This came into my phone with a myr******b9@poftoday.com (Apple Approval Notice) at 11:10 AM - I am in Ontario Canada - Message as follows

We have noticed that your Apple iCloud id was recently used at APPLE STORE CA for $143.95 paid by apple pay pre auth. Also some suspicious sign in request and apple pay activation request detected. That looks like suspicious to us. In order to maintain the security and privacy of your account we have placed those requests on hold. your photos data bank information and cards are at risk. If NOT you? talk to an apple rep. Failing may leas to auto debit and charge will no be revered call +188******38 immediately to cancel charge

Billing department: Subscriptions and Billing - Official Apple Support Have a grate day!

I've of course Deleted and reported Junk but i have NEVER got anything like this BF.. I get a lot of fake auto e-transfers from LEXX WEBBER , Linda Forsyth , WAYNE THOMAS , DIAN MCLOUGHLIN, wayde

(usually says one of them has deposited (said amount) check emails OR it says I've successfully deposited in their account check email for details... I always check email nothing is there.. Why is this happening??

Has anyone else got these before? Please HELP!!!!!!!

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I just received a text saying:

1350 Notification : A charges of 350.49 was made using your ID at Apple Store Through Apple Pay. Contact 1(8**) **5-***7 now if you didn't authorize it.

I assumed it was a scam but found nothing on Snopes so I came here. I’m so glad all of you have posted your experiences.

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southern-treat wrote:

My repeated spam messages seem to occur on Mondays.

I just delete the darn things.

If the texts use unique wording, a tool such as the third-party Bouncer app can filter it.

As for the schedule, organized scamming is a business too, and they also have bosses and “sales” goals.