LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is warning Michiganders to keep an eye out for scammers ahead of the holiday weekend.
Each year during the holiday season, the United States Postal Service (USPS) ships hundreds of millions of packages to people all over the country. Scammers can use this time of year to try to take advantage of people by impersonating the USPS or other shipping companies.
The scammers are known to send texts to their victims claiming that they are from the USPS, contacting you about a package. The scammers will ask the victim to click on a link in the text that will take them to a website that will steal their data or prompt them for a payment. These types of scams are known as "smishing".
“It is critically important for people to recognize a scam like this and avoid giving out their personal information. Clicking on fraudulent links can lead to identity theft, the installation of malware on your device, or it could lead to your contact information being sold to other bad actors who are also looking to take advantage of unsuspecting victims,” said Nessel.
The Michigan Office of the Attorney General provided a sample "smishing" text and some tips on how to avoid being scammed:
- Don't share your phone number unless you know the person or organization well.
- Don't assume a text is legitimate because it comes from a familiar phone number or area code. Spammers use caller ID Spoofing to make it appear the text is from a trusted or local source.
- Don't provide personal or financial information in response to the unsolicited text or at a website linked to the message.
- Don't click on links in a suspicious text; they could install malware on your device or take you to a site that does the same.
- Don't reply, even if the message says you can "text STOP" to avoid more messages. A response tells the scammer or spammer your number is active and can be sold to other bad actors.
- Never follow a text's instructions to push a designated key to opt out of future messages.
Keep up to date with consumer alerts from the Department of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team here.
You can file a complaint with the Department of Attorney General, here.
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