Three has identified five warning signs of a potentially dangerous message lurking within your email.
Check your iPhone and Android now – and then delete any offending messages that might be waiting for you to become their next victim.
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Three UK warns of “smishing text” messages that are meant to trick people into giving them money or information.
Even worse, you could end up with a device “infected”, which is controlled by or tracked by criminals.
And the texts will typically claim to be from some kind of trusted organisation – in a bid to trick you.
Three warning signs were highlighted in a security alert.
Beware of scam texts
Your messaging app may contain text that contains specific threats.
Three says that this is a common occurrence.
They may warn you if your account is compromised.
You can easily check this by checking your account’s security settings.
Please do not send any personal information or click on any links.
A second way to tempt you is by promising a bonus.
Three described the message as “You can win something, or get it for free, or even at a discount price,” if you respond quickly.
If something seems to good to be real, then it most likely is.
Don’t give any information out when receiving freebies.
The third is when an unexpected message includes a hyperlink.
Clicking a link within a text can be very tempting, particularly if the promise or warning is included.
But once you click a link, your device could be compromised – or you could be taken to a fraudulent website designed to hoodwink you.
To stay safe, ignore links found in texts that you don’t expect.
The text that asks you for your confidential information is the fourth.
You’re unlikely to find a large organisation asking for your password over text.
Be sceptical about any request for private or personal information.
Five is the text asking you to dial a number.
This is often a trick to make you call a number with a higher rate.
You may also end up in a situation where you are dealing with an expert scammer, who knows how to extract money or information from unsuspecting victims.
Avoiding scams
The company Three advised: “If you still aren’t sure, you can contact the organisation who seems to be sending you the message in order to confirm that it is from them.”
“Just make sure you don’t use any of the contact details from the text – go to their website to find more info.”
It’s easy to protect yourself from smishing.
“Remember: you have to reply to one of these messages to put your device at risk, so they’ll always ask you to take an action,” Three explained.
Simply delete the message from your mobile phone to avoid getting caught.
If you want to investigate the situation, your provider may also be able to look into it by forwarding the text message for free.