It’s the holiday season, which means it’s also holiday CRIME season. The FBI is warning the public about text message scams. yourNEWS Network’s Shawn Cunningham has ways to avoid being a criminal target this holiday season so you won’t be crying Bah Humbug.
Shawn On Camera
It’s the holiday season, which means it’s also holiday CRIME season. The FBI is warning the public about text message scams
TAKE PKGE
The FBI warns text message scams (smishing) are rampant right now,
using fake alerts and AI to trick you into clicking malicious links or giving information that can lead to malware, identity theft, or financial loss. Last year, Americans lost over $12.5 billion to fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an increase of 25% from the previous year. Other reports estimate that the total cost of identity fraud and scams reached
$47 billion in 2024
and online scams alone resulted in $16.6 billion in losses reported to the FBI. The largest categories of FTC-reported losses were investment scams, which increased by 24% to $5.7 billion, and imposter scams, which accounted for $2.95 billion.
Here’s what they advise consumers to do:
Don’t Click: Never click links in unexpected texts.
Don’t Reply: Replying confirms your number is active, making you a bigger target.
- Verify Independently: If a message seems real, find the official organization’s number yourself (from their website, not the text) and call to confirm.
- Slow Down: Scammers create false urgency; take time to think.
- Look for Imperfections: AI images/voices might have odd details (hands, shadows).
- Report: File all complaints to ic3.gov.
Shawn Cunningham yourNEWS Network, Maine
Original article
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