Stimulus scam texts circulating in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Scammers are taking advantage of the confusion happening in Congress by preying on people in need of economic relief.
A KRDO viewer received a text message hoping to get people to click on a link to receive their stimulus payment. She says her daughter got the same text.
If you look closely, some words are misspelled. Others have zero’s in place of letters and vice versa. Odd misspellings are a tell-tale sign something isn’t right. On top of that, the offer is for $1,200, but Congress agreed on $600 payments for some Americans.
“Clicking the links will redirect your browser to various sites that could inject malware onto your cell phone,” said Taylor Watters, Vice President of Watts Media in Colorado Springs.
He explains scammers could be using Google Voice to send you texts. It’s a service he uses to field phone calls to his company. But con artists can pay to use it too.
“So when you sign up for Google Voice, if you have a Google account, it takes 5 seconds,” Watts said. “You pick your area code and they have a chunk of numbers to choose from with that area code essentially.”
It’s one reason scammers are able to use local area codes to call or text you. The best thing to do is block the number and delete the text. Even so, it’s possible scammers can use a new number to target you again.
“If they’re trying to phish you, they’re going to be persistent and malicious in acquiring what they’re looking for. I wouldn’t put it past a criminal to drop the number and use another one and comb through the list again.”
Stimulus payments will be deposited directly into bank accounts or through mail.
