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Stafford County warns of new text scam
Stafford County officials are alerting residents to a new text scam. If you receive a message about a fraudulent withdrawal, authorities say don’t panic — that’s exactly what scammers are counting on.
STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. - A Virginia sheriff's office is warning residents to be cautious of a new text message scam involving the name of their bank.
What we know:
The scam notifies people of a fraudulent bank withdrawal and is an attempt to trick recipients into clicking a malicious link that could compromise their personal and financial information.
According to officials with the Stafford County Sheriff's Office, the scam involves text messages that notify a person of a fraudulent withdrawal. The messages are designed to make the recipient panic, leading them to click a link in the text to "cancel it." This link can then be used to steal bank information or install malware on their device.
The Sheriff's Office received a report from a citizen who received a message about a fraudulent withdrawal, but did not fall for the scam because they did not bank with the company listed in the text.
Authorities advise that if you receive a message like this, you should never click on any links. Instead, you should directly reach out to your bank to verify the transaction. Many banks have official apps you can use to check your balance and recent transactions.
You can find and report a scam to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) on the Scam Tracker website.
The Source: This article is based on information from the Stafford County Sheriff's Office and Better Business Bureau.