Lincoln Police says an 83-year-old woman became a victim of a ‘smishing’ scam on Monday. ‘Smishing’ is a type of phishing scam where criminals use short text messages to target victims. LPD Public Information Manager Erika Thomas says the scammers texted the victim and notified her of a fraudulent charge on her card and advised her to call a specific number listed in the message.
“The scammers instructed her to send the money through a Bitcoin ATM.” “We want to remind the public to please be very cautious of text messages like these,” Thomas says. “Never click on links, reply to text messages or call numbers you don’t recognize.”
She also advises deleting all suspicious texts. “If you are concerned a bank account or credit card may be compromised, call the institution directly at a verified number, not one listed in a text.” Thomas wants residents to have conversations with their loved ones about the various forms of phone, email and text scams out there so we can help everyone avoid becoming a victim.
You can learn more about ‘smishing’ by clicking here .