America is awash at the here and now with a “ bell - fee SMS scam . ” Asmany commonwealth governmentshave alert residents , you may incur an SMS from an unknown number claiming that you owe an unpaid bell and ask that you pay . Because X of billion of people have defrayal history yoke to license - plate - establish or RFID - scanned system , it sounds credible . And if you do n’t , you might call back that your permission plate was linked to your phone number insomegovernment database .
Apple provides a pernicious tool you’re able to apply to forfend being scammed by this and other smishing ( SMS phishing ) con jobs that rely on clicking a URL :
When you take in an SMS from an unknown party that contains a link , Messages does n’t make that linkup clickable .
These two example images of “smishing” (SMS phishing) show the way that scammers attempt to fool you into activating or copying a URL that takes you to a fraudulent toll collection site.
However , if you reply to an unnamed sender , Apple take over you know the party and activates links after that response . This is why the scam subject matter note , “ If the link fail , reply ‘ atomic number 39 ’ to retry , or simulate and glue it into your web internet browser . ” That ’s a sure signnot to .
Washington State DOT
The best advice :
As with all phishing and smishing attempts , the cozenage artists attempt to activate your fright impulse by saying “ final notice ! ” , claim they interpret the regime , or make other threat . When you receive a text like this in the time to come , recognize the odds of it being accurate are small , and you may easily check without responding to the message , just in font it ’s dead on target .
Some company have n’t gotten the , er , message that they should n’t demand payment through SMS . I had a bulk shipment of a book I wrote inbound from Canada a few weeks ago . I received a mound of SMS subject matter tie in to it , claiming fee were required . It turned out they were ! But the company should have said , “ Log into your report on our website , ” and not provided a link . It ’s just not a trustworthy way to do business any longer .
