Dangerous SMS Fraud - "Your Package Has Been Sent" | Free Antivirus

Since the corona pandemic, more and more orders have been placed online. Fraudsters are now taking advantage of this and sending SMS notifications with alleged parcel tracking. By clicking on the link, not only is your cell phone infected and access to all personal data is granted, but a fraud SMS is sent to hundreds of phone numbers at the same time. As a result, the scale takes its course and the SMS spreads in a matter of seconds.

This principle is known as the so-called " snowball principle " and has been used more and more frequently, especially since the Corona crisis. The fact that more and more orders are placed online gives an SMS of this kinda higher level of credibility, as many actually expect a package and click on the link infected with the malware.

Why You Should Not Click the Link Under Any Circumstances:

The SMS messages in circulation usually contain the text "Your package has been sent, follow your package here" or "Your package has been sent, please check and accept it here:". The scam SMS does not come from just one phone number, but from many different ones. If you receive such a message from a known number, you should contact the person in another way and warn or inform them about it. Because clicking it causes the following:

·          Malware is installed on your phone and access to all of your personal data is granted

·          Due to the snowball principle, your mobile phone may automatically send the fraudulent SMS to other numbers in your phone book

 

Anyone Who Receives a Message About Parcel Delivery Tracking on Their Mobile Phone Should Be Careful

"I work in IT myself: It goes without saying that I check links before I click on them," explains a reader from the Zollernalb district who contacted our editorial team. In the past few days, she had received several SMS messages that contained a link under which she could track a parcel delivery.

She deleted the first text message immediately and then investigated more when others trickled into the mailbox. It turned out to be a scam by scammers. This is because the link does not provide any information about packages, but downloads malware without being noticed.

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Text Messages Spread Through Victims' Phones

"I just called the numbers on which the SMS were sent: They were all private individuals who had clicked on the link beforehand." Link is automatically sent to other people via SMS - at the expense of the injured party.

What is noticeable here is that the software does not seem to access the victims' phone book. “The people and the numbers I called were unknown to me: one came from Berlin, one from Cologne, one from Regensburg,” she lists.

Warning to Others

To warn others and to prevent the SMS from spreading, the woman contacted our newspaper. "I think the corona crisis is also one reason why criminals are now trying such scams."

That's What the Police Advise

In the past few weeks, there have been repeated cases of SMS fraud - also known as smishing (SMS + phishing) - in the area of ​​responsibility of the Reutlingen police headquarters.

The police recommend:

• Back up your cell phone data regularly. In this way, you can restore them in an emergency, for example after a factory reset.
• Do not click links from unknown sources. Be especially suspicious if you are not expecting a package.
• Don't install apps from unknown sources.
• Activate the third party locks and install an antivirus program.
• Do not continue to operate the affected device

The police also advise you to contact the responsible police station immediately if you are affected. Attempts should also be reported to the police. Because comparatively few cases are on record, although - this is also shown by the feedback from our readers - many cell phone users have received numerous such fraudulent SMS messages.

What to Do if You Accidentally Click on The Link?

In the best case, you should switch your mobile phone to flight mode immediately after clicking, so that no further SMS messages can be sent at first. You should also inform your provider immediately and set up a so-called "third-party lock" to prevent high costs from sending SMS messages. Also, you should restart your phone in "Safe Mode" to check which apps have recently been reinstalled and should be deleted.

Conclusion

If you have accidentally clicked on the SMS, try all of the above steps. Also, a police report helps to identify alleged patterns of the fraudsters and thus to minimize the damage. However, your mobile

phone may have to be reset to factory settings. If you have not made a backup, in this case, all your data will be lost.