Example of what this ‘smishing’ scam looks like. Courtesy/Rachel Arnold of SecureNation, LLC
By BECKY RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
A warning this week from law enforcement officials and FedEx – watch out for a new, incredibly convincing text message (smishing – phishing scams via text message) scam spoofing the shipping service.
People across the country are getting personalized texts about an incoming package. There is no estimated delivery time, and the victim is told that FedEx is “waiting for them to set delivery preferences” by tapping and following a link.
The link goes to a page spoofing an Amazon listing and asks them to take a “customer service survey” that probes for personal information and credit card numbers to send you a “free gift”. Sadly, there is no such thing as a free gift from Amazon, and the only thing you will get if you enter your information is identity theft.
See above example of what this scam looks like, courtesy of Rachel Arnold of SecureNation, LLC. In some cases, the scam is personalized with the user’s name; in others, it is not. Either way, don’t fall for this scam! Never click on a link in a text message from a suspicious sender; always go directly to the company’s website instead to check the shipping status.
FedEx has stated it would never send a text to a customer asking for personal or credit card information. Customers should be especially wary of notifications in FedEx’s name that have a high sense of urgency. Telltale signs of a phishing scam to look for include bad grammar, misspelled words, and incorrect URLs; e.g., instead of “FedEx.com”, maybe it would say “FeedExs.com”. In other cases, the scammers may use a URL shortener like bit.ly to create an obfuscated (you can’t tell where the URL is sending you) URL like this e.g., goo.gl/TVlei8.
If you get such a text, block the sender and ignore it, it’s not FedEx – it’s just another scam. According to FedEx, you also can report any suspicious texts or emails to abuse@fedex.com.
Editor’s note: Becky Rutherford works in information technology at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
